Kerry: 'Serious gaps' remain in Iran talks

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry and leading diplomats are gathered in Vienna in an effort to meet the latest deadline to strike an accord with Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

"We still have some serious gaps, which we're working to close," Kerry said Saturday. "The good thing is the P5+1 are united and working in concert."

The P5+1, formed in 2006, is a group of six world powers tasked with negotiating the Iran deal. It includes the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, France and Germany.

"These are the hours of truth," said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who added it is not yet clear that Iran "is really ready to renounce" its efforts to secure a nuclear weapon. "That is the only criterion," he said.

Iran has contended for nearly a decade that its nuclear ambitions are purely energy-related, and the country would like to remove sanctions imposed over its nuclear activity. Failure to reach an accord could exacerbate tensions. Both the U.S. and Israel have threatened military action in order to prevent Iran from securing a weapon.

Kerry met with with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Vienna, where talks entered their fifth day. Both Kerry and Zarif reversed plans to leave Vienna and are staying through the weekend. The group is gathered at Vienna's Palais Coburg.

The State Department said Kerry spoke by phone on Saturday to Arab foreign ministers in the Gulf, whose countries fear Iran's potential ability to make nuclear arms, as well as with Kerry's Canadian and Turkish counterparts.

Asked about the prospects of an agreement while taking an outside cigarette break from a meeting Saturday, Zarif shouted "Inshallah!" ("God willing!") in Farsi.

The P5+1 and Iran reached an interim agreement a year ago, but they failed to reach a lasting accord and extended the deadline to Nov. 24. There has not yet been discussion of extending the talks if Monday's deadline is not met, but it is likely talks would continue if no deal is reached.

Contributing: The Associated Press