'Ways to go' in Iran nuclear talks as time runs short

The US hunkered down Tuesday with Iran for crunch talks while warning that key disagreements remain ahead of a March 31 deadline to agree the outlines of a major nuclear deal.
      
"There is no way around it, we still have a ways to go," a senior US official involved in the talks in the Swiss lakeside city of Lausanne said Tuesday.
      
The deal being sought by US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart will, they hope, convince the world that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian programme.
      
The Islamic republic, which has seen its relations with the West thaw somewhat since President Hassan Rouhani replaced Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2013, strenuously denies wanting the bomb.
      
The accord would involve Iran agreeing to scale down its nuclear activities to within strict limits in return for relief from sanctions suffocating its economy.
      
If they manage it and the accord holds, both sides hope it will end a 12-year standoff and potentially help normalise Iran's international relations at a particularly volatile time in the Middle East.
      
"Iran still needs to make some very tough and necessary choices to address the significant concerns that remain about its nuclear programme," a second US official said Monday.
      
"We're trying to get there. But quite frankly, we still do not know if we will be able to," the official said, likening the months of negotiations to a "rollercoaster".
      
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Kerry held almost five hours of talks on Monday before Zarif went to and from Brussels -- while Kerry went for a bike ride -- to meet European foreign ministers and EU foreign policy chief...