Diplomats have three more days to salvage an agreement with Iran that seeks to alleviate concerns over its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
Foreign ministers on Friday missed their third deadline in two weeks and now have through Monday July 13 to resolve the remaining sticking points in an accord that they say is mostly complete. Extending the talks past July 9 means the US Congress would have 60 days to review any deal instead of 30 days, delaying the lifting of sanctions.
"It's safe to say we have made progress," US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters Friday evening. He said the latest session focused on "a couple of very difficult issues" and "the atmosphere is very constructive."
Meetings continued last night in the Palais Coburg and resumed Saturday morning with Kerry meeting his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
For energy-rich Iran, an agreement could speed its return to oil markets and lift financial restraints that have stifled its economy. For the US and its regional allies, the goal is to restrict Iran's ability to obtain nuclear weapons, which the Islamic Republic denies seeking.
Foreign ministers from Russia, the UK and France are returning Saturday to review work done overnight on draft text, which diplomats say is about 80 pages long. Fourteen days into the talks, the sides are still struggling to resolve disputes on key issues of timing, reciprocity and sanctions relief.
President Barack Obama "has indicated to his negotiating team that they should remain in Vienna and they should continue to negotiate as long as the talks continue to be useful," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Friday in Washington.
The more upbeat remarks from the US camp follow a period in which tensions have crept into the talks, with diplomats warning they could walk out or positioning themselves to blame the other side in the event of a breakdown.
Iran cautioned the US against setting and breaking deadlines. The practice amounts to "psychological war," Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Friday, according to the Iranian Students News Agency. It's "up to them" to walk away, he said of the American negotiators, suggesting blame would fall on the US if talks fail.
