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German FM says Iran is serious to arrive at nuclear deal

03 March 2015 21:29 (UTC +04:00)

His remarks came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif were meeting in the Swiss town of Montreux in an effort to meet a March 31 deadline to come up with a political framework agreement following months-long negotiations.

Iran and "the P5+1 group" - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany - have already missed two deadlines for a permanent deal on Iran's nuclear program in negotiations that have been ongoing since 2003.

"I have been involved in nuclear talks in the past 10 years...We had the impression that Iran was playing for time or playing games. Compared to the past, I have the impression that Iran is taking the negotiations seriously," Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters in Geneva after adressing the UN Human Rights Council.

Western powers fear that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and want Tehran to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.

Iran, however, says its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes.