Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-faisal was briefed by US Secretary of State John Kerry about the points of disagreement in the talks between Tehran and world powers.

Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal met US Secretary of State John Kerry in Vienna on Sunday and discussed latest developments on America’s nuclear talks with Iran.

Kerry also held a conference call with the foreign ministers of the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, and separate calls with the foreign ministers of Turkey and Canada on the status of negotiations.

“Prince Saud jetted into the Austrian capital, where Kerry updated the prince about talks with Iran and the points of disagreement in the negotiations between Tehran and world powers,” said a reliable source without divulging details.

The negotiations in Vienna are intended to resolve a 12-year-old standoff between Iran and the West and remove at least one source of tension from a region in growing turmoil. Foreign ministers from as many as seven countries are gathering in Vienna for the final push to the midnight Monday deadline in talks on the future of Iran’s nuclear program.

Most of the top-level work at these talks has been done by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif and Kerry, who met again Sunday. They have been joined briefly by several other foreign ministers. But as the deadline looms, the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain headed for Vienna again.

According to reports, Russian and Chinese officials would also attend the final scheduled day of talks Monday. A senior US State Department official said that the nuclear negotiators have exerted all efforts to strike the deal during the last few days. He said that Kerry met in Vienna with his Iranian counterpart, Zarif, and European Union envoy Catherine Ashton.

The trio remained behind closed doors inside the Palais Coburg in Vienna two days after Kerry and Zarif canceled plans to leave the Austrian capital and redoubled their attempts to win a bargain on Sunday. In fact, Kerry met Iran’s foreign minister for the fifth time in three days on Sunday, but hopes were fading of achieving an agreement by Monday’s deadline.

Kerry, who has been in Vienna since Thursday, said on Saturday that “big gaps” still remained as far as negotiations with Iran are concerned. The signs are that America and Iran have failed to overcome their differences on two crucial issues, namely, the scale of Tehran’s capacity to enrich uranium and the pace by which sanctions would be lifted under any agreement.

 
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