Talks underway for final stages of Iran's nuclear programme

Representatives of the six world powers held talks in Vienna over the final stages of Iran's nuclear programme with the November 24 deadline approaching.

Iranian officials were not present at the discussions to work out the negotiation schedule Friday, Xinhua reported.

Next on the agenda are trilateral talks in Muscat beginning Sunday that will be attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The meeting was arranged to clear final hurdles ahead of a major round of talks to be held again in Vienna Nov 18.

Michael Mann, spokesperson for former European Union (EU) foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said that the main objective of the negotiations is to reach a deal that ensures the Iranian nuclear programme is of a solely peaceful nature, and without a military aspect.

Iran, for its part, is primarily seeking the lifting of economic sanctions.

Iran and the P5+1 group - Britain, China, France, Russia, the US plus Germany - agreed in July to extend the talks by four months till Nov 24 as they could not narrow down significant gaps on core issues during the previous six months.