Kerry Says Iran Nuclear Talks Expected to Resume in 'Next Few Days'

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday nuclear talks between world powers and Iran were expected to resume soon, after Tehran said it was quitting the negotiations.

"We're making progress, but I think we're at a point in those talks where folks feel a need to consult, take a moment," Kerry told reporters in Tel Aviv.

"There is every expectation that talks are going to continue in the next few days," he said of the talks.

Iran on Friday accused Washington of going against the spirit of a landmark interim agreement reached last month by expanding its sanctions blacklist and quit implementation talks.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said both sides had headed home for consultations.

Under the interim deal, Iran agreed to freeze parts of its suspect nuclear program for six months in return for some $7 billion in relief from Western sanctions as it negotiates a final, comprehensive accord to allay suspicions it seeks a weapons capability.

Kerry said he had spoken with Ashton and said he expected "we will proceed to the full implementation of that plan."

"This is sort of the normal part of the process in developing the implementation plan," he said of the breach in talks.

Kerry remarks were delivered as he was leaving for Asia, after a series of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on their troubled peace process.