US wants first step from Iran to curb nuclear activity

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday important gaps needed to be bridged in high-stakes talks with Iran on curbing its nuclear programme and he would meet Tehran's foreign minister shortly to try to clinch an interim deal, according to Reuters. "I want to emphasise there is not an agreement at this point," Kerry said shortly after arriving in Geneva, tempering rising anticipation of a breakthrough that would reduce the risk of a Middle East war over Iran's nuclear aspirations. "We hope to try to narrow these differences but I don't think anybody should mistake there are some important gaps that have to be closed," he told reporters. Midway through the second round of negotiations since Iran elected a moderate president who opened doors to a peaceful solution to the nuclear dispute, Kerry joined fellow big power foreign ministers in Geneva to help cement a preliminary accord, with Israel warning they were making an epic mistake. Diplomats said a breakthrough remained uncertain and would in any case mark only the first step in a long, complex process towards a permanent resolution of international concerns that Iran may be seeking the means to build nuclear bombs.