EU official in talks not confident on Iran nukes

TEHRAN, Iran - The European Union's foreign policy chief said Sunday that there is "no guarantee" that Iran and world powers will reach a final deal over the country's nuclear program.

Catherine Ashton was in Tehran for meetings with Iranian officials on continuing negotiations over the country's nuclear program, as well as the civil war in Syria and other issues. She spoke to reporters in a joint briefing with Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Separately, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani advocated pursuing "new relations" with European countries that for years have been at odds, alongside the United States, with Tehran over Iran's disputed nuclear program.

"Besides ongoing nuclear talks that should be driven ahead, there are other suitable fields in which both Iran and European Union can consider push relations and cooperation ahead," the president said in remarks quoted by his website. He suggested energy and transportation cooperation.

Under an interim deal in November, Iran agreed to limit a key nuclear activity, uranium enrichment, in return for easing sanctions by the West.

Negotiations for a final deal are continuing. Ashton leads the six-nation group - the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany - in talks with Iran.

"I think this interim agreement is really important, but not as important as the comprehensive agreement that we are currently engaged in. Difficult, challenging, there's no guarantee we'll succeed," she said.

Zarif said Iran will accept only a deal respecting its "rights," referring to uranium enrichment on its soil, while reiterating Iran's long-standing position that his country is not pursuing nuclear arms.