Iran committed to continuing nuclear talks - foreign minister

Iran will continue nuclear negotiations with world powers despite "unsuitable actions" which led to it halting technical talks in Vienna, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday.

The United States on Thursday blacklisted additional companies and people under existing sanctions intended to prevent Iran from obtaining the capability to make nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is for electricity generation and medical purposes only. Iran's negotiators on Friday interrupted talks in Vienna on how to implement a nuclear agreement because, its officials said, the US decision was against the spirit of the deal. "In the last few days unsuitable actions have been taken on the part of Americans which we have responded to in an appropriate manner," Zarif said in a posting on his Facebook page. "We will continue with negotiations in Geneva with seriousness and we will certainly show a correct, measured and targeted response to any unsuitable action," he said.

The development has highlighted potential obstacles negotiators face in pressing ahead with efforts to resolve a decade-old dispute between the Islamic Republic and the West. US officials have said the blacklisting move showed that the Geneva deal would not interfere with their policy of economic embargoes designed to curb entities suspected of supporting Iran's nuclear programme. Some US lawmakers are pushing for further sanctions to be imposed against Iran but President Barack Obama has campaigned for Congress to hold off on new measures to provide space for the diplomatic process.