However, US and European officials have said they want a final deal before July 9 at the latest to avoid triggering a lengthier US Congress review period for the agreement.
But negotiators for Iran and the six world powers in the talks expect the talks to extend for a few additional days.
The pace of high-level talks, which has been intense, appeared to slow somewhat Monday as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif returned to Tehran for consultations. The West wants sanctions immediately reimposed if Iran strays from the agreement, but China and Russian Federation refuse to concede veto powers on the U.N. Security Council.
“I feel the negotiations have reached a very sensitive stage”, Zarif said this week, according to the New York Times.
Among demands for approving a deal, Royce’s statement listed: “anywhere, anytime inspections; no sanctions relief jackpot for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps; guaranteed sanctions snap-backs; and meaningful restraints on Iran’s nuclear program that last decades”.
The letter calls on the United States to pressure Iran to establish strict limits on advanced centrifuge testing, to allow UN inspectors to visit any nuclear military sites they need, and to secure the right to interview Iranian officials and nuclear scientists.
“We’re just working and it’s too early to make any judgements”, Kerry told reporters in Vienna following a weekend of intense talks with counterparts from five other major powers and Iran.
Recently USA Secretary of State John Kerry suggested that the Washington was prepared to let that issue slide, but the State Department said that was not the case.
The peaceful gathering numbered around 200 men and women and participants said their aim was to support Iran’s negotiating team in Vienna.
Fabius said “We have made some progress, but still it is not the end of the process”, adding that he is planning to return to Vienna later this week where negotiators have been trying to settle the remaining differences. “We are ready to sign this agreement but our Islamic dignity should be preserved also”, said Hassan Akbari, a Tehran resident. Moscow would then convert the uranium and Iran will be given a large share of profits from any sale.
Iranian officials said a plane carrying Mr Zarif, Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) chief Ali Akbar Salehi and Hossein Fereidoun, President Rouhani’s younger brother and special adviser, landed in Vienna on Tuesday morning.
Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme reach a deadline on 30 June and it is still unclear whether a deal between Tehran and the world powers can be reached before deadline.
“This is an historic moment - both sides have come too far to walk away without a good deal”, she told AFP.
As talks go on, Israel is threatening to take action and destroy Iran’s nuclear plants and Saudi Arabia is considering a nuclear program to battle their neighbors if things escalate.
Western diplomats say they are nearing a resolution, although Iranian officials maintain that access to military sites is a red line set by Khamenei.
Other western officials have also said they can see a possible path through the access issue which wouldn’t prevent inspectors having any concerns addressed.
