(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) US Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, which entered their fifth day running, were taking place in a serious manner to iron out sticky issues, describing the talks as "tough and complex." Kerry, speaking on sidelines of his meeting with German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said the P5+1 group was working very hard and were making "cautious" progress, while there were big gaps the parties were working to narrow, the US mission to the IAEA said in a statement.
Kerry, who held four meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif since coming to Vienna, said the good thing was that the P5+1 countries were working on a coordinated manner.
He said he would not disclose contents of negotiations but was grateful for the serious work done by all parties.
Kerry held a conference call with foreign ministers of the Gulf countries over the state of play of the Iranian nuclear negotiations.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said earlier that there was still a "very significant gap" and raised the possibility of an extension to the deadline.
He said the parties did not have so much time to reach an agreement by November 24.
The number of centrifuges remain the most thorny issue on the negotiations' table.
Iran has installed 19,000 centrifuges and there were 10,000 operational. Washington wants to cut this number to 4,500 to prevent Tehran from producing nuclear fuel.
Iran is demanding immediate lift of international sanctions while the Western countries want gradual lifting.
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