Officials from six world powers and Iran are meeting to discuss the country's controversial nuclear program, in the latest talks to address a decade of concerns that Iran is working to develop a nuclear weapon.
The meeting Tuesday in Almaty, Kazakhstan, includes the so-called P5+1 group of nations - the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany - and is not expected to produce any major breakthroughs.
The world powers are expected to offer to ease some sanctions against Iran, if the government agrees to halt some of its enrichment activity.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but many nations around the world are concerned it is actually aimed at building an arsenal of nuclear bombs.
Speaking in London on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that "an Iran with a nuclear weapon, in that region, and given all that has happened, is simply unacceptable."
Kerry said the United States goes to the talks in Almaty prepared to work in "good faith" and "mutual respect" to avoid what he called the "consequences" of a failed deal.
The International Atomic Energy Agency recently said that Iran has begun installing a new generation of centrifuges at its Natanz enrichment plant, a move U.S. officials have deemed "provocative."
The meeting marks the first time in eight months that the parties are gathering to discuss Iran's uranium enrichment program.
Over the past few years, the United Nations Security Council has imposed sanctions on Iran in an effort to pressure it to end its program. Several other countries, including the United States, have imposed their own additional measures.
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