Iran nuclear talks resume in Geneva

Representatives from world's six major countries and Iran met here Sunday evening for fresh talks over Iran's disputed nuclear programme, Xinhua news agency reported.

Delegations from the P5+1 group comprised of the US, Britain, France, Russia, China plus Germany, and Iran met "to continue their diplomatic efforts towards reaching a long-term, comprehensive solution to the Iranian nuclear issue", according to a statement from the mediator European Union.

Wang Qun, director-general of the Department of Arms Control of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and head of Chinese delegation, told reporters prior to the talks that the negotiations were now at "a crucial juncture".

As the negotiations for the Iranian nuclear programme is coming to an end, detailed issues become more prominent and challenges mount, which will make the political resolution imperative and even more urgent, he said.

Wang stressed that how to manage both the political and technical issues, and how to show political decisiveness at a crucial juncture matter the most.

China hopes all sides will strengthen confidence, hold the consensus and inject more political impetus into the talks, in a bid to achieve a comprehensive deal as soon as possible, Wang said.

Sunday's meeting was preceded by the engagements between officials from the US and Iran that started Friday.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met Sunday afternoon in an effort to narrow remaining gaps.

Prior to their meeting, Kerry said Saturday in London that the current talks were very "technical", because all sides were pushing to reach agreement on "some very difficult issues". He also stressed that "there were still significant gaps, there was still a distance to travel".

The participating sides of the Iranian nuclear talks agreed in November 2014 to extend the deadline for another seven months and aimed to reach a political framework deal within the next four months.

However, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei expressed concerns over the two-phased arrangement earlier this month, saying a framework agreement on generalities may be abused by Iran's opponents as a tool for bargaining over details in the final deal.

How much nuclear capability Iran can keep, and the steps to lift West-imposed sanctions against Tehran were among the main sticking points in the ongoing negotiations.