Kerry to meet Iranian foreign minister in Paris
Iran's Zarif to hold meeting with Kerry ahead of new round of nuclear negotiations among Iran and five permanent members of UN Security Council and Germany.
The American official said the meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif will take place at Kerry's hotel in the French capital before he returns to Washington.
The pair spent six hours together in Geneva on Wednesday on the eve of a new round of nuclear negotiations among Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.
The Paris meeting comes as the negotiators in Geneva grapple to reach a framework accord that would address international concerns about Iran's nuclear program by a March target date.
Kerry is in Paris to show US solidarity with France in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks and Zarif is in the city primarily to see French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
France has taken a tough public line on the negotiations and French President Francois Hollande reiterated that point on Friday in a speech to 200 foreign diplomats.
"France wants a final agreement but not in any conditions," he said. "With a clear approach: Yes to access of Iran to civil nuclear energy, no to its access to nuclear weapon. We won't compromise on that principle."
Some Iranian lawmakers are considering a push toward resuming unlimited uranium enrichment if the United States imposes new sanctions on Tehran amid negotiations on the country's nuclear program, speaker Ali Larijani said Thursday.
Iran and major world powers have given themselves until June to reach a comprehensive agreement that would prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb in return for an easing of iron-clad global sanctions.
The United States and Iran were seeking this week to break a stalemate that has seen two earlier deadlines pass without an accord.
Among issues complicating negotiations, the new Republican-controlled US Congress is considering a fresh sanctions bill to force concessions from Iran at the multilateral talks that resume this week in Geneva.
The United States, along with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia are pressing Iran for a deal.
Washington's UN ambassador, Samantha Power, warned Congress on Monday that ratcheting up sanctions against Iran would likely torpedo the negotiations.
In a speech Thursday in the Iranian city of Qom, Larijani warned the world powers they "cannot haggle with us," saying they must "make correct use of the opportunities offered to them."
"Recently some deputies have been considering a bill stipulating that Iran will pursue its activities at whatever level of enrichment... if the West decides to impose new sanctions," he warned.
AP and AFP contributed to this report
