U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L) meets his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) for a new round of nuclear negotiations in Montreux March 2, 2015.CREDIT: REUTERS/EVAN VUCCI/POOL[/caption]
(Reuters) - The U.S. and Iranian foreign ministers wrapped up three days of talks over Iran's nuclear program on Wednesday, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal being negotiated was a serious mistake.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif have negotiated for more than 10 hours since Monday in the Swiss lakeside town of Montreux, hoping to work out a framework deal by late March.
The next U.S.-Iran bilateral meeting would take place on March 15, a senior U.S. official said. The location was still to be determined but would likely be Geneva, he said.
However, Netanyahu's controversial speech to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, where he harshly criticized the diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute, may make it harder for the Obama administration to sell the potential deal back home.
Netanyahu argued that rather than preventingIranfrom acquiring nuclear arms, a deal would "all but guarantee" that it would one day get the atomic bomb, puttingIsrael, the wider region and U.S. interests at risk.
U.S. PresidentBarack Obamaresponded within hours saying that Netanyahu had offered no "viable alternatives" to the current course of negotiations.
Iranand world powers are trying to put a framework agreement in place by the end of the month, despite the misgivings ofIsrael, U.S. congressional Republicans and some Gulf Arab states. Such an accord would be followed by a comprehensive agreement to be completed by the end of June.
The aim of the negotiations is to persuadeIranto restrain its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions that have crippled the oil exporter'seconomy.
The United States and some of its allies, notablyIsrael, suspectIranof using its civil nuclear program as a cover to develop a nuclear weapons capability.Irandenies this, saying it is for peaceful purposes such as generating electricity.
By Reuters
