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'Sticker shock' meeting: Wide gaps as negotiators start drafting Iran accord

The P5+1 and Iran concluded the first round of talks geared toward drafting a final deal on Iran's nuclear program without making headway.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (3R) poses with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif  (2R) and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman (2L) during a photo opportunity at the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva November 7, 2013.  REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX153PI

Vienna_ The first drafting round of Iran final deal talks ended with few signs of progress Friday, but negotiators from all sides said they had expected difficult moments along the way as they got down to negotiating the tough issues involved in a comprehensive deal.

It was a “useful, but at times difficult” meeting,” a senior US administration official, speaking not for attribution, told journalists in Vienna after the conclusion of the talks Friday. “But that is not entirely unexpected.”

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