A fresh round of talks between Iran and world powers kicked off today with a push for Tehran to freeze its disputed nuclear programme in exchange for some relief from sanctions.
Officials have said that a long-awaited deal on curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions may be finally within reach, after years of fruitless talks were given fresh momentum by the election of Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani, seen as a moderate.
In their second meeting in Geneva in less than a month, negotiators from the United States and five other global powers sat down with Iranian officials for two days of talks aimed at hammering out an agreement.
The talks began shortly after 1000 GMT and were chaired by Catherine Ashton, the EU diplomatic chief who heads the so-called P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany.
Ashton started the day with a private meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to work out how talks would proceed.
Both sides have said recent talks have been the most productive in years but admit that reaching a deal will not be easy, with Zarif saying this week's negotiations were expected to be "very difficult".
"We have entered a detailed phase that is still difficult and precise," Zarif said on his Facebook page.
Zarif had sounded an optimistic note earlier this week however, saying he believed it would be "possible" to reach an agreement.
The meeting is the second since Rouhani took office in August pledging to resolve the nuclear dispute and lift sanctions by engaging with world powers.
Iran is anxious for relief from crippling economic sanctions that have cut oil revenues in half, caused the value of the rial to plunge and pushed inflation above 40 percent.
The West is also keen to seize a rare opportunity to build bridges with Iran after decades of hostility, opening the door to engaging with Tehran on other issues like the conflict in Syria, where Iran has backed President Bashar al-Assad against the anti-regime insurgents.
Last month's talks in Geneva -- held in English for the first time -- saw Iran reportedly outline a two-stage process that would resolve the dispute within a year.
