REPORT: Hard bargaining in Geneva on Iran nuclear deal

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British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Saturday that remaining gaps in talks between Iran and six powers on Tehran's nuclear program were narrow but important.

He was speaking to reporters after arriving in Geneva to join the talks along with foreign ministers from the other five world powers seeking to persuade the Islamic state to curb its atomic activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

"They remain very difficult negotiations ... We are not here because things are necessarily finished," he said. "There are narrow gaps but they are important gaps."

The areas of difficulty were the same as during the previous meeting in Geneva on Nov. 7-9, he said, although there was also a "huge amount of agreement".

In turn, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said talks on Iran's nuclear program were "not a done deal".

"It's not a done deal. There's a realistic chance, but there's a lot of work to be done," Westerwelle said on arriving in Geneva.

On Friday, a State Department spokeswoman said that US Secretary of State John Kerry decided to join Iran nuclear talks in Geneva given progress being made in negotiations between Tehran and six world powers.

"In the light of the progress being made Secretary Kerry decided to travel to Geneva to join his ministerial colleagues tomorrow should an agreement be reached," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

In the same regard, China's state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the country’s foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei as saying on that talks in Geneva on Iran's nuclear program "have reached the final moment”.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi left Beijing early on Saturday for Geneva to attend the talks with Iran, which also involve the United States, Russia, France, Britain and Germany.

It is also worth mentioning that the foreign ministers of France and Britain were heading to Geneva on Friday night to join talks on Iran's nuclear program, as Tehran and six world powers appeared closer to clinching an elusive breakthrough.

"Laurent Fabius will travel to Geneva tonight for the Iranian nuclear talks," a French diplomatic source said. British Foreign Minister William Hague announced on Twitter that he was heading for Geneva.

REUTERS/AP

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