"We are not far from an agreement with the Iranians, but we are not there yet," Laurent Fabius told Europe 1 radio.

Some diplomats accused France of grandstanding during talks in Geneva at the weekend, something Fabius denied, saying Paris was not isolated, but had an independent foreign policy.

An unplanned arrival of US Secretary of State John Kerry as well as the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany raised expectations that a potential deal was in the offing. But the Fabius threw a spanner in the works at the last-minute.

Fabius said on Saturday in Geneva that the Israeli regime’s “concerns” must be taken into consideration in the course of the nuclear talks, adding that there is “no certainty” whether Iran and six powers will reach an agreement at the current stage.

Following three days on intensive talks with world powers in Genva, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday that a deal could be made over the general framework of cooperation if there was not obstacle-making from a certain side without referring what country.

He told Al Alam that “Negotiations have been going on well, however, stance of one of the participants made some problems and it took most of the past 48 hours to discuss ways to persuade that single side... However we must see how it goes and I am still optimistic.”

SHI/SHI