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Secretary of State John Kerry said there is no certainty on deal with Iran and reiterated the U.S. commitment to two-state solution for Israel, Palestinians. (Reuters)

Secretary of State John F. Kerry flies to Switzerland on Sunday for the next round of talks over Irans nuclear program, amid soaring expectations that a historic agreement is imminent.

A cascade of signals from Washington and Tehran suggest the governments taking part in the talks believe they can reach a framework for a deal by late March despite domestic opposition.

In Iran, senior ayatollahs, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have praised their often-criticized negotiators as patriots working for the good of the country.

Kerry, who has invested a huge amount of effort in direct talks with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, recently stopped in the Persian Gulf to prepare wary Arab allies for what appears to be the coming deal with their arch foe.

Perhaps tellingly, the American delegation for the upcoming set of talks includes an additional member. Joining the usual experts on sanctions, arms control and nuclear proliferation will be Alan Eyre, the State Departments Persian-language spokesman whose outreach to Iranians has him fielding questions in fluent Farsi on Facebook and Twitter.

A quirk of the calendar could lend a resonant touch to an agreement now, coinciding with the Persian New Year, an important Iranian national holiday marking new beginnings.

While officials have cautioned a comprehensive deal is not assured, the signposts point to negotiators announcing some sort of general agreement soon, leaving technical details to be worked out by the end of June.

Theyre very close, said the Iranian-born Trita Parsi, president of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council. Momentum is on the side of an agreement being reached. The political capital the two sides have put into this is overwhelming, and would be very, very difficult to walk away.

The talks over Irans nuclear program began more than a decade ago and proceeded in fits and starts until Hassan Rouhani was elected president of Iran in 2013. In a country staggering under high unemployment and inflation, Rouhani campaigned on a promise of relief from sanctions.

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Crunch time as Iran nuclear talks resume