Big powers resumed talks yesterday on a preliminary deal to curb Iran’s nuclear programme with Russia and Britain confident a breakthrough could be clinched and Iran spelling out “red lines” but saying it wanted friendly ties with all nations.

Keen to end a long standoff and head off the risk of a wider Middle East war, the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany came close to winning concessions from Tehran on its nuclear activity in return for some sanctions relief at negotiations in Geneva earlier this month.

Policymakers from the six nations have since said an interim accord on confidence-building steps could be within reach at last, despite warnings from diplomats that differences could still foil an agreement.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the remaining gaps were narrow. “It is the best chance for a long time to make progress on one of the gravest problems in foreign policy,” he told a news conference during a visit to Istanbul.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier: “We hope the efforts that are being made will be crowned with success at the meeting that opens today in Geneva.”

Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Li Baodong, head of China’s delegation in Geneva, said: “Things are on track.”

Western governments suspect Iran has enriched uranium with the covert aim of developing the means to fuel nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies. Refined uranium is used to run nuclear power stations – Iran’s stated goal – but can also constitute the core of a nuclear bomb, if enriched to a high degree.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech as Western negotiators gathered in the Swiss city that the Islamic Republic would not step back from its nuclear rights and he had set “red lines” for his envoys in Geneva.

But he added, according to his official website: “We want to have friendly relations with all nations and peoples. The Islamic system isn’t even hostile to the nation of America, although with regards to Iran and the Islamic system, the American government is arrogant, malicious and vindictive.”

Khamenei also criticised France, which spoke out against a draft deal floated at the November 7-9 round, for “succumbing to the US” and “kneeling before the Israeli regime”.

France said this comments were unacceptable.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Russia yesterday to appeal for tougher terms in any accord with Iran after failing to convince the US the powers are pursuing a bad deal.

Israel, assumed to have the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal, sees a nuclear-armed Iran as a mortal threat and wants its arch-enemy’s uranium enrichment capabilities dismantled and its enriched uranium stockpile removed.

Israel believes the interim deal would buy Iran time to pursue nuclear weapons as it would not scrap its nuclear fuel-making infrastructure.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.