Kerry to hold three-way talks with Iran FM, Ashton

BEN GURION AIRPORT / JERUSALEM

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry checks his watch as he boards his plane from Amman to Tel Aviv, November 8, 2013. REUTERS photo

US Secretary of State John Kerry will hold three-way talks later Friday with Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif and the EU's Catherine Ashton as they push for a deal on Iran's nuclear programme.

"In an effort to help narrow the differences in negotiations, Secretary Kerry will travel to Geneva, Switzerland, today at the invitation of EU High Representative Ashton to hold a trilateral meeting with High Representative Ashton and Foreign Minister Zarif on the margins of the P5+1 negotiations," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. She was referring to talks which resumed on Thursday between Iran and the six so-called P5+1 powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany.

Israel rejects "completely" mooted nuclear deal with Iran

Israel rejects "completely" a mooted world powers deal with Iran aimed at ending a long-running row over its nuclear ambitions, and will not be bound by such an accord, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

A senior Israeli official quoted Netanyahu as saying late on Thursday that the agreement under consideration would bury "the possibility of having a peaceful resolution".

Netanyahu met John Kerry on Friday morning for the third time in two days, with Iran once more high on the agenda. Kerry is due to fly afterwards to Geneva where Iran and six world powers are holding negotiations.