(VOVworld)- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and top US diplomat John Kerry will meet in Geneva this weekend for talks on Tehran's nuclear program, Iranian and American officials said Thursday.

Iran and world powers are trying to strike a deal that would prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb in return for an easing of punishing international economic sanctions. Zarif and Kerry will hold two days of discussions from Sunday after their diplomats begin bilateral talks on Friday, Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said, quoted by the IRNA news agency.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed the two men would meet on Sunday in Geneva as "part of the ongoing nuclear negotiations" after top US negotiator Under Secretary Wendy Sherman first meets with the Iranian delegation. Araqchi added there would then be meeting of the so-called P5+1 -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany -- which is seeking to thrash out a complex deal with Iran. Psaki said the schedule was still being worked out, but did not rule out other multilateral meetings. Tehran denies seeking atomic weapons, but Western powers remain unconvinced its activities are solely aimed at peaceful civilian energy production.