Iran FM joins late-night meeting of world powers at nuclear talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif joined a late-night meeting of the foreign ministers of world powers as talks continued in Geneva over Tehran’s nuclear programme, officials said.

US and European officials said Zarif had joined a meeting attended by EU diplomatic chief Catherine Ashton and ministers from the P5+1 group that includes Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

Diplomats at the talks, which stretched into an unscheduled third day on Saturday, were grappling to secure a landmark agreement in the decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

They appeared to be making a final push for a deal after Tehran raised the prospect of negotiations being put off by about a week.

Initial reports said the proposed agreement — seen as a first step ahead of further talks on a final deal — would see Iran freeze parts of its nuclear programme in exchange for some relief from the sanctions battering its economy.