US, EU, Iran to meet in Oman over nuclear talks

MUSCAT (Xinhua) - The trilateral meeting between the US secretary of state, Iran's foreign minister and the EU foreign policy chief to discuss core issues on Iran's nuclear program is to start in Muscat of Oman on Sunday, the official Oman News Agency reported.

The two-day meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif comes just two weeks before the Nov. 24 deadline for a comprehensive deal on the controversial nuclear program of the Islamic republic.

The meeting is part of the EU-coordinated negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany.

Iran and the P5+1 group agreed in July to extend the nuclear talks for another four months, as they could not narrow down significant gaps on core issues during the past six months.

The two sides met again about three weeks ago in Vienna, Austria without any major breakthrough.

Tehran is not seeking to extend the talks and trying to reach a comprehensive deal with the six powers before the Nov. 24 deadline.

On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama said he has offered Iran a framework for the potential nuclear deal that would allow Tehran to meet its peaceful energy needs.