Iran nuclear agreement | Talks hit final stage but deal remains elusive

Tents of TV crews stand in front of Coburg where closed-door nuclear talks with Iran continue in Vienna

Disputes over attempts to probe Tehran’s alleged work on nuclear weapons unexpectedly persisted at Iran nuclear talks yesterday, diplomats said, threatening plans to wrap up a deal by midnight — the latest in a series of deadlines for the negotiations.
The diplomats said at least two other issues still needed final agreement — Iran’s demand for a lifting of a U.N. arms embargo and its insistence that any U.N. Security Council resolution approving the nuclear deal be written in a way that stops describing Iran’s nuclear activities as illegal. They demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the negotiations.
With a temporary deal set to expire at midnight yesterday Vienna time (early today, Macau time), diplomats said they hoped to complete and announce a final agreement before day’s end. But they warned there was no guarantee, and some said the talks could stretch into today despite there being little appetite for what would be a fourth extension of the interim agreement since the current round began on June 27.
Grim-faced foreign ministers from the countries negotiating with Iran declined to answer questions about another possible extension as they gathered for a group meeting at the 19th Century palace that has been hosting the talks.
“Definitely I believe there should not be an extension in the talks. But we can work to reach a result as far as it is necessary,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in remarks carried by Iran’s official IRNA newsagency.
Beyond placing long-term limits on Iran’s present nuclear program, the United States wants to ensure that the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency has wide-ranging authority to investigate the nuclear arms allegations after nearly a decade of being essentially stalemated.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Aragchi, told reporters in Vienna that the talks are at their “final breathtaking moments (but) certain issues still remain.” He said he could not guarantee an agreement would be reached either yesterday or today.
In Brussels, French President Francois Hollande said the sides are near agreement but “a gap” remains. Matthew Lee and George Jahn, Vienna, AP