New round of nuclear talks between P5+1, Iran begins in Switzerland

Senior diplomats from Iran and the P5+1 countries, namely the United States, China, Russia, France, Britain, plus Germany, gathered around the negotiation table in the Swiss town of Montreux Thursday afternoon for another round of talks to try and find a final and comprehensive deal on Iran's nuclear program.

A source close to the negotiators said there is hope that a deal will be made, though U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, said earlier that "significant gaps" remained barriers to an agreement.

"We do think that it's the last stage, and hopefully we could reach an agreement," said Wang Qun, the director-general of the arms control department of China's foreign ministry, was quoted as saying ahead of the talks.

"Basically there are two categories of issues," Wang told reporters. "One is how to see the non-proliferation concern removed and secondly is to see the Iranian right to the peaceful use (of nuclear technology) is ensured."

Earlier this week, Kerry held a three-day discussion with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Montreux, and then headed to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to speak with gulf member states on the same issue.

The last round of unclear talks between the P5+1 and Iran was held some two weeks ago from Feb. 21 to 23 in Geneva.

Under an interim deal between Iran and the P5+1 inked in November, 2013, Iran said it would suspend critical nuclear activities in return for a limited ease of sanctions, with all sides seeking a comprehensive deal.

After twice missing self-imposed deadlines, the negotiators agreed in November 2014 to extend the deadline for another seven months, hoping to reach a deal, which could be one of the most important and divisive international agreements in decades. Endit