Iran nuke talks resume to forward framework deal

A new round of Iranian nuclear talks resumed on Thursday here as top U.S. and Iran diplomats came back to the negotiating table, hopefully for the home stretch.

According to Iran state news agency IRNA, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry started talks on Thursday morning.

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, U.S. Under Secretary Wendy Sherman, as well as EU deputy foreign policy chief Helga Schmid joined the negotiation.

Due to the Iranian new year on March 21, and other factors, P5+ 1 countries (the United States, China, Russia, France, Britain, plus Germany) and Iran suspended the week-long negotiations last Friday, without having reached a framework agreement.

However, a senior official from the U.S. Department of State briefed journalists on Wednesday that more progress had been made in the last round than previous rounds.

"We are focused on getting a political framework that addresses all of the major elements of a comprehensive deal done by the end of March," he noted on condition of anonymity.

Foreign ministers from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia are expected to join the talks later the week, a sign that a possible framework agreement might be within reach. Enditem