Montreux, March 5 (RHC)-- U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reported progress in their bid to reach a nuclear deal before a March 31st deadline. The talks will reconvene on March 15th after concluding on Wednesday.

The advances come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has returned to Israel following his trip to Washington seeking to stop the deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that while gaps remain, negotiators are resisting the pressure of "warmongers" and "scaremongers."

The Iranian foreign minister said: "We are not far from reaching an agreement. There are gaps that need to be filled, serious ones. But that doesn’t mean that we are not capable of moving forward. We have one very serious problem, and that is, there is a great deal of pressure that is being imposed by warmongers, by scaremongers, who are trying to prevent a deal by scaremongering tactics, by lying, by demagoguery. And that is an impediment to the necessary atmosphere that is required to reach a deal."

Netanyahu sought to undermine the deal by speaking before the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, which could block any easing of U.S.-led sanctions under the potential agreement.