ROME, Oct 30 ― The leaders of the United States, Germany, France and Britain gathered on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Rome today to discuss the way forward in talks with Iran over its nuclear program.

Iran’s talks with six world powers aimed at reviving a 2015 nuclear deal are slated to resume at the end of November, the Islamic Republic’s top nuclear negotiator said on Wednesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron, who were all attending the G20 summit, were meeting separately to discuss Iran.

Asked as he went into the meeting when he wanted Iran talks to resume, Biden simply said: "They’re scheduled to resume”.

A senior U.S. administration official told reporters that the meeting on Iran was Merkel’s initiative and would give the leaders an opportunity to go over the topic ahead of a critical period coming up.

"This is going to be a serious opportunity to check signals as we head into a really vital period” on this issue, the official said.

In April, Iran and six powers began to discuss ways to salvage the 2015 pact, which unravelled after then-U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018, prompting Iran to breach various limits on uranium enrichment set by the pact. ― AFP