John Kerry meets Iran FM in Paris for more nuclear talks

Paris: US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met in Paris on Friday to discuss negotiations for a nuclear deal, a US official said.

The pair, who held a marathon six-hour round of talks in Geneva earlier this week in a bid to nail down a deal, were taking the opportunity to meet again in the French capital on separate diplomatic trips.

Their talks lasted just under an hour, a US official said.

Zarif is also due to meet French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius while in Paris.

The new Zarif-Kerry talks came as their negotiators were also meeting in Geneva.

Global powers leading the talks, known as the P5+1 are due to open negotiations on Sunday in the Swiss city as a deadline looms for a comprehensive deal which would rein in Iran`s nuclear programme in exchange for relief from a tight network of sanctions.

Both sides have remained tight-lipped about whether any progress is being made.