US, Iran resume talks to clinch nuclear deal

 Switzerland, March 26 

As the talks began, Washington and Tehran took opposing stands on Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen against rebels allied to Iran who are fighting to oust the country’s president, but it was unclear whether this would affect the nuclear talks.

The goal of the negotiations, underway for nearly 18 months, is an accord under which Iran would halt sensitive nuclear work for at least a decade. In exchange, international sanctions on Iran would be lifted under the deal to end its 12-year nuclear standoff with the West and reduce the risk of another war in the Middle East.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz met their Iranian counterparts, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Atomic Energy Organisation chief Ali Akbar Salehi in the Swiss city of Lausanne.

Speaking to reporters traveling with Kerry on Wednesday, a senior State Department official said the six powers - the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China - would not rush to complete a framework agreement with Iran just because there was a March 31 deadline.  — Reuters