Iranian FM: If no deal Saturday on nuclear program, talks with world powers to continue soon

Mohammad Zarif meets for second round of trilateral talks with US counterpart Kerry, EU's Ashton; on third day of P5+1 negotiations in Geneva, lead Iran negotiator says process to continue in 1 week-10 days, if no result today. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that if no deal is reached with world powers on Saturday over Iran's nuclear program, talks could continue in a week to 10 days.

"There was a possibility, and perhaps it still exists, that if there are good intentions we can reach an agreed-upon text," Zarif told reporters in Geneva, where ministers from six major powers are negotiating with Iran."If we reach a result by the end of today, it's reached. If not, the process will continue in one week or 10 days." Barring a late breakthrough, Western diplomats said talks between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's nuclear program were likely to end on Saturday without an agreement, but were expected to resume in a few weeks. "Clearly, efforts are still going on," one diplomat said. Following a five-hour session on Friday, Zarif met for a second round of trilateral talks on Saturday afternoon with his US counterpart John Kerry and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to discuss the contents of a draft agreement on Tehran's disputed nuclear program. Before going into talks with Kerry and Ashton, Zarif expressed reserve over the process. “There has been some progress, but there is still a gap,” Iran's Fars news agency quoted him as saying to reporters in Geneva on Saturday. Talks in Geneva hit a snag on their third day Saturday as France and Britain expressed doubt over the possibility of an agreement. France said there was no certainty the talks would succeed because of major stumbling blocks over an initial proposed text on a deal, and the importance of Israel's security concerns. "As I speak to you, I cannot say there is any certainty that we can conclude" the talks, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on France Inter radio, noting that France could not accept a "sucker's deal". Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the talks have achieved "very good progress" but important issues remained unresolved and he did not know whether a deal could be clinched by the end of the day. The West suspects that Iran is enriching uranium to develop nuclear weapons capability. Tehran denies this.