(Reuters) - U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad
Jawad Zarif met here on Thursday, a senior State Department official
said, the latest in an intensifying series of talks to reach a deal on
Iran's disputed nuclear program. There was no immediate word on
whether the two men had made progress in the hour-long session on a deal
to curb Iran's nuclear work in return for an unraveling of Western
economic sanctions on Tehran. Having
missed a November accord for a deadline, the two sides are now looking
to reach a framework agreement in March and a final long-term deal by
June 30. Kerry and Zarif met as recently as last week, both in Geneva and in Paris. Meanwhile,
Zarif, speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, warned
that more sanctions by the U.S. Congress would kill the negotiating
process between Iran and major powers on its nuclear program. Some lawmakers in both major U.S. political parties have backed fresh sanctions against Tehran, something U.S. President Barack Obama says he opposes while negotiations are continuing. "A
sanctions bill by the U.S. Congress will kill the joint plan of
action," an interim agreement adopted in November 2013, Zarif said. "The
president of the United States has the power to veto it, but our
parliament will have its counter-action and our president doesn't have
the power to veto it."
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