US top diplomat John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart today launched a new high-stakes diplomatic drive to nail down an unprecedented nuclear deal as they hurtle towards a deadline just one month away.
US officials warned the weeks leading to June 30 would be intense, vowing to "keep the pressure on" to force the Iranians and everyone at the table to make the "tough decisions" needed to end a 12-year standoff and put a nuclear bomb beyond Iran's reach.
Sealing a long-elusive deal with the Islamic republic could prove President Barack Obama's lasting foreign policy achievement.
But after three decades of enmity, it may also pave the way towards better ties between Washington and the Shiite regional power, bringing Iran back into the international fold and creating fresh impetus to resolve a host of conflicts grown ever more perilous in the Middle East.
Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will meet once again in the Swiss city of Geneva, as the United States with its partners - Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia - seek to finalise the complex pact.
After an interim accord hammered out in the Swiss city in November 2013, the United States and Iran are grappling with the final details of the ground-breaking agreement which would see Iran curtail its nuclear ambitions in return for a lifting of a web of international sanctions.
The two diplomats are due to meet today, but US officials did not rule out that the talks could stretch into a second day as the clock ticks down to the deadline.
After eight days of emotional, tough talks in Lausanne, the delegations unveiled on April 2 a framework to guide the last stretch of negotiations, with Iran agreeing to rein in and mothball large sections of its nuclear program.
But differences remain, while both the United States and Iran are under immense pressure from hardliners at home.
"We have a month left. I do think you'll see it escalate at the political level," a senior State Department official told reporters yesterday, saying Kerry wanted to meet with Zarif to discuss the "really tough sticking issues."
June is "going to be a pretty intense month both at the expert level and the secretary's level, but I think we definitely still believe we can do it.
