Kerry says may meet Iran's Zarif again this week

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(ATimes) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday he may meet Iran's foreign minister again this week to discuss Tehran's nuclear program following their roughly six hours of talks on Wednesday.

Iran and six world powers have renewed their quest for an elusive nuclear deal -- seen as crucial to reducing the risk of a wider Middle East war -- after negotiators failed for the second time in November to meet a self-imposed deadline.

The major powers hope to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear program, which the West suspects may seek to develop atomic weapons, in exchange for a gradual easing of economic sanctions. Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.

Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif met for about six hours in Geneva on Wednesday.

"There is no final decision as to whether or not we will meet in Paris," Kerry told reporters in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, noting he and Zarif would both be in the French capital on Friday.

"It is possible, but nothing has been decided. It may also not happen," he added.

Kerry sidestepped a question on whether it was possible for the United States to strike a nuclear deal while Iran continues to detain a number of U.S. citizens, saying only that Washington was making great efforts to secure their release.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed Tsvetelia Tsolova; writing by Matthias Williams and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Gareth Jones)(GA, Reuters, Asia Times)