Kerry will fly to Geneva
on Friday "in an effort to help narrow differences in negotiations" with
Iran, two senior State Department officials said. European Union High
Representative Catherine Ashton invited Kerry to the talks, the
officials said. The French Foreign Ministry announced Fabious' plans to
join the talks.
News of travel plans for
Kerry and Fabious came hours after Iran's foreign minister said that
officials could reach an agreement by Friday evening.
"I believe it is possible
to reach an understanding or an agreement before we close these
negotiations (Friday) evening," Iran's foreign minister and chief
nuclear negotiator, Javad Zarif, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
Though he would not
detail what such an agreement could include, he told the state-run
Iranian News Agency, "We expect to make a breakthrough."
Israel is rejecting the
possible agreement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said prior to
meeting with Kerry on Friday, before traveling to Geneva.
"So Iran got the deal of
the century and the international community got a bad deal," Netanyahu
said. "This is a very bad deal. Israel utterly rejects it and what I am
saying is shared by many, many in the region whether or not they express
it publicly."
