US, Iran seek magic formula in nuke talks

Ensconced for hours in a Vienna hotel room, US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart yesterday tried to resuscitate troubled talks about limiting Tehran's nuclear programme.

Iran and six world powers have less than six weeks, until November 24, to strike a comprehensive accord meant to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons under the cover of its civilian atomic programme, in exchange for eased sanctions.

Ahead of his meeting in the Austrian capital with Mohammad Javad Zarif, also involving EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Kerry said there was still hard work to be done.

"I don't believe it's out of reach, but we have some tough issues to resolve," Kerry told reporters in Paris Tuesday after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Kerry refused to be drawn on whether -- as floated by Lavrov, Iran's president and many experts -- Iran and the six powers might push back the target date, as they did earlier this year.

"We need to continue to have some serious discussions, which we will, and we'll see where we are," Kerry said.

"We're not talking about an extension at the moment," a senior US State Department official echoed yesterday. "There is still time to get this done... if everyone can make the decisions they need."

But Lavrov said in Paris on Tuesday that the November deadline was not "sacred", in the strongest suggestion yet from one of the P5+1 powers.

Zarif too appeared to indicate that more time might be needed in order to discuss what he called "serious and innovative" -- but unspecified -- "new methods".

Iran, reeling from sanctions, denies seeking to build the atomic bomb and says it wants to expand its nuclear programme in order to generate electricity and help cancer patients.

But the six powers -- the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany -- are pressing Tehran to reduce its activities in order to make any dash to make a weapon all but impossible, offering sanctions relief in return.

Last November, the two sides agreed an interim deal and set a July 20 target to agree a lasting accord, but after drawn out talks they gave themselves four more months.