Kerry and Zarif hold lengthy Iran nuclear talks in Geneva

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif held intensive talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme on Jan. 14, returning for an evening session before handing off to their deputies, officials said.

Iran and six world powers have renewed their quest for an elusive nuclear deal - seen as crucial to reducing the risk of a wider Middle East war - after negotiators failed for the second time in November to meet a self-imposed deadline.

Kerry and Zarif "had substantive meetings for approximately five hours today and they discussed a broad range of issues with a small group of staff from each side," a senior State Department official said.

But Kerry later unexpectedly returned to the Geneva lakeside hotel for a third meeting lasting some 90 minutes with Zarif after briefing senior U.S. negotiators ahead of their technical-level talks scheduled with Iranian counterparts for Jan. 15 in the Swiss city.

"Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Zarif reconvened this evening to continue discussion about the nuclear negotiations in advance of the start of the next round of talks tomorrow," a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said.

Wendy Sherman, acting deputy secretary of state, and deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi are to lead their delegations at Thursday's talks, to be followed on Sunday Jan. 18 by wider talks between Iran and major world powers.

As the two sides met in Geneva, Iran's judiciary indicted American journalist Jason Rezaian and sent his case to be tried in a hardline Revolutionary Court, the official IRNA news agency reported late on Jan. 14.

Earlier Zarif said that serious dialogue with the West would be easier if it respected Muslim sensitivities,...