Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has reportedly flown back to Tehran on Sunday night to discuss a final bargaining position on his country's nuclear programme as the June 30 deadline to hammer out a final deal looked set to be postponed.
Zarif's departure from Vienna followed a fresh round of weekend talks with his counterparts from the US, UK, France, and Germany. The European ministers were to return to their capitals and await progress, while the lead western negotiator like U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was expected to remain in Europe to await Zarif's return, reported The Guardian.
Zarif told journalists that he would return to the Austrian capital on Tuesday, the day of the deadline to chalk out a final deal.
Western officials remarked that they expected to stay for a couple of days past that date. However, EU foreign policy chief, Frederica Mogherini, remarked that she was 'optimistic' that the "conditions are right" to finalise an agreement in Vienna this week. She also said that reaching a deal on Iran's nuclear programme was a matter of political will and added that the "security of the world is at stake".
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, on the other hand, said that there will have to be some 'give or take' if the deal was to be finalised in the next few days and added, "No deal is better than a bad deal."
On being asked if he was optimistic about reaching an agreement, Kerry said that he was 'hopeful' and added that they would have to work through some difficult issues.