PARIS, March 28 — French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said today that a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers was near even though a few items had still to be settled.

"We are near an agreement,” Le Drian said at a news conference in Doha.

Le Drian’s comments came in contrast to a more bleak assessment of the Iran nuclear situation offered by the United States yesterday.

Yesterday, US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said he was not confident that a nuclear deal between world powers and the Islamic Republic was imminent, dampening expectations after 11 months of talks in Vienna that have stalled. — Reuters