U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will hold talks next month with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as the deadline for an agreement on Iran's nuclear program approaches.
The State Department says Kerry will meet with the Iranian diplomat in Oman on November 9 and 10. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will also be part of the talks.
Iran and the so-called P5 plus 1 (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany) face a November 24 deadline for a deal on Iran's nuclear program.
The P5 wants Iran to curb its uranium enrichment abilities to keep it from being able to build a nuclear bomb.
In exchange, the U.N. would lift crippling economic sanctions. There has been little progress towards a final agreement.
Iran has consistently denied wanting to build nuclear weapons, insisting its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes.
Kerry's overseas trip also includes stops in Paris and Beijing for a ministers' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Some information in this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
