US, EU, Iran to meet next week over nuclear negotiations

Top diplomats of the United States, the European Union and Iran will meet in Vienna next week over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will have a trilateral meeting on Oct 15 in the Austrian capital of Vienna, "as part of the comprehensive nuclear negotiations with Iran", US State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said at a daily news briefing.

She said Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden will meet with Iranian officials Oct 14 in preparation for the trilateral meeting, xinhua reported.

The US, along with Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, is trying to ink a final deal over Iran's nuclear programme through negotiations set to end on Nov 24.

Differences remain over Iran's capacity to enrich uranium, a process that can make fuel for peaceful nuclear uses as Tehran claims, but also for making atomic bombs.

"We continue to believe that there is still adequate time to work through these issues and arrive at a comprehensive agreement that will give the international community assurances that Iran will not acquire a nuclear weapon," Psaki said.