Kerry assures Gulf countries on Iran's nuclear talks

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry asserted to Gulf countries on Thursday that any deal on Iran's nuclear program will strengthen the non-proliferation of atomic weapons.

"We have achieved some progress with Iran, but there are some gaps remaining, while Iran should present specific answers after the re-negotiations," Kerry said at a press conference after meeting foreign ministers of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Kerry said his visit to Riyadh was to inform GCC partners of the negotiations with Iran.

Before arriving in Riyadh late on Wednesday, Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held talks in Montreux, Switzerland, which he said had made progress toward a nuclear deal by the end of March.

Gulf countries, mostly Sunni ones, are worried that Shiite Iran's nuclear program would finally develop into weapon capabilities, which Iran has constantly denied, insisting that its nuclear program is purely civilian.

They are also concerned that to reach a nuclear deal between world powers and Iran, international pressure would be eased on Tehran to allow more room for it to intervene in regional issues, like the fight against the Islamic State group.

Before the press conference, Kerry also held talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the Iranian nuclear deal and extremists in the region.

The P5+1 group, namely Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany, is trying to strike an accord that would prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb. In return, the West would ease punishing sanctions on Iran. Endit