2nd LD Writethru: Fresh round of Iran nuke talks to be held next week in Geneva: Report

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday that the next round of nuclear talks between Iranian negotiators and representatives of the P5+1 group will be held on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva next week, according to Iranian state media Press TV.

Another Iranian official media IRNA, citing a member of Iranian negotiating team, reported that the exact date would be next Monday (March 2).

The scheduled fresh diplomatic efforts are preceded by the bilateral engagements between the U.S. and Iran that started from last Friday, and as well as Sunday talks between representatives from Iran and the P5+1 group, namely the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, as participating sides strive to narrow remaining gaps for a solution to the decade-long standoff over Tehran's controversial nuclear program.

It has been over a year since Iran and the world powers agreed to come back to the negotiating table for the nuclear problems in 2013. However, wide differences have kept all talking sides from arriving at a final deal.

The negotiators agreed in November 2014 to extend the deadline for another seven months and aimed to reach a political framework deal by the end of March. Endit