Its failure to do so would have severely undermined the US and other powers trying to clinch a long-term nuclear accord with Tehran over the next several days.
The news came as the State Department announced the extension of an interim nuclear agreement that was set to expire tonight, the original deadline for a final deal. The preliminary measures have been prolonged to July 7 "to allow more time for negotiations to reach a long-term solution ... On the Iran nuclear issue," spokeswoman Marie Harf said.?
Under a preliminary deal reached in November 2013, Iran agreed to cap its stockpile of lower-enriched uranium at a little more than 7.6 tons and transform any remainder into a form that experts say would be difficult to reconvert for arms use.
Although amounts were permitted to fluctuate, Iran had to fully comply today. And as of only a month ago, the U.N. nuclear agency reported its stockpile at more than 8 tons, leading to fears that it would not meet the target.
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Talks in Austria's capital restarted today after a one-day interruption, with Iran's chief diplomat returning from Tehran and insisting he had a mandate to finalize a nuclear agreement. The promise came despite increased signs of backtracking by his country's supreme leader and an acknowledgement by all sides that no pact would be reached by their self-imposed deadline.
Zarif returned with Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's atomic agency, who had missed earlier sessions due to illness, an indication of Iran's desire to accelerate talks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov joined the gathering later Tuesday.