Iran Nuclear Talks Extended

Iranian nuclear talks will be extended until Friday despite an international deadline elapsing Tuesday, negotiators said.

"We are continuing to negotiate for the next couple of days," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told Reuters.

Seven party negotiations over Iran's nuclear program were set to end Tuesday in Vienna, under a deadline for a deal to be brokered. The negotiations include Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

According to U.S. delegation spokesperson Marie Harf, the three day extension will give negotiators time to potentially secure an interim deal, amid rumors the latest round of talks have made significant breakthroughs.

"We're frankly more concerned about the quality of the deal than we are about the clock, though we also know that difficult decisions won't get any easier with time," Harf said.

Iranian diplomat Abbas Araqchi said he was willing to continue negotiations until a deal is reached, adding he didn't view the Tuesday deadline as “sacred.”

“We are ready to stay in Vienna as long as needed to continue the negotiations even if the talks have to be extended day by day,” he told Iranian media.

Negotiators have already missed a series of previous deadlines. Among the most contentious issues that dogged previous rounds of international talks have been Western sanctions, along with disagreements over the amount of uranium Tehran can stockpile for enrichment, and the number of centrifuges it can operate.

Yet both Iran and other international powers have expressed optimism in recent weeks that a viable deal is now possible, after years of negotiations with few tangible results.

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