Iran nuclear talks deadline maybe extended

The deadline to reach a final deal in the nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers group P5+1 maybe extended to July 9, Iranian deputy foreign minister has said.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghcbi said Saturday that the signing of the final agreement might be postponed since both sides needed time to resolve certain issues.

“The time is not important, what is important is reaching a good deal,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday.

Iran and the P5+1 countries – China, Russia, US, UK, France, plus Germany – reached a landmark framework deal on April 2 in the Swiss city of Lausanne over Tehran’s uranium enrichment program and nuclear activities and are now trying to complete the comprehensive agreement, the deadline for which was set to June 30.

Iran wants the freeze on its $100 billion assets to be lifted apart from the immediate lifting of international sanctions imposed on it.

However, the US wants the sanctions to be removed gradually and wants full access to Iranian nuclear sites.

Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.