Kerry to travel to Vienna for final push on Iran nuclear deal

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of State announced Thursday that Secretary John Kerry will travel to Vienna Thursday evening to join the ongoing Iranian nuclear negotiations.

"Secretary Kerry will travel from Paris, France, to Vienna, Austria, this evening to check in on the Iran nuclear negotiations," said spokesperson Jen Psaki, adding that "His date of departure from Vienna is not yet determined."

"He'll determine how long he stays once he is there, once we see where we are and can assess where the negotiations are," a senior U.S. administration official said earlier in the week regarding Kerry's travel to Vienna.

A U.S. delegation has been engaged in negotiations for three days in what may or may not be the final round of talks before the Nov. 24 deadline.

The P5+1 -- the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States) plus Germany -- have been meeting with Iranian officials throughout the last year to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement.

U.S. officials commenting on the status of negotiations on Monday said they are still seeking concrete assurances from Iran that its nuclear program will remain peaceful and not be used as a weapon. They conceded that it is unclear whether an agreement can be reached by the Nov. 24 deadline. It's "difficult, but possible," they said.