nuclear talks

Diplomats: Iran announcement planned Monday

The envoys said a provisional agreement may be reached even earlier — by late Sunday. But they cautioned that final details of the pact were still being worked out and a formal agreement must still be reviewed by leaders in the capitals of Iran and the six world powers at the talks.

Senior U.S. and Iranian officials suggested, however, there was not enough time to reach a provisional deal by the end of Sunday.

All of the officials, who are at the talks, demanded anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly.

Breaking: Iran nuke deal expected Sunday - Diplomats

The two diplomats cautioned that final details of the pact were still being worked out Sunday afternoon and a formal agreement still awaits a review from the capitals of the seven nations at the talks. They said plans now are for the deal to be announced on Monday.

The diplomats, who are at the talks, demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly.

Iran's leader calls for continued anti-US struggle

The negotiations entered their 15th day Saturday with no indications of major progress after three extensions and four target dates for a deal, and diplomats said it remained unclear whether an agreement could be reached by Monday, the latest deadline.

Iran and the U.S. have threatened to walk away unless the other side makes concessions. Although it was unclear whether Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was preparing the ground for the failure of the talks, his comments were likely to add to skepticism over the outcome at the negotiating table.

Nuclear talks: Kerry setting records with long Vienna stay

With no agreement in sight, he may stay longer.

Kerry's trip to Vienna, now in its 15th day, already eclipses his own record for an overseas voyage and is the most extended stay outside the United States for a secretary of state since George Shultz in 1983. He will equal Shultz's mark on Sunday.

Kerry left Washington June 26 hoping the Iran talks would wrap before a June 30 deal deadline. Since then, negotiators have pushed off the deadline twice and did so for a third time Friday, allowing the negotiations to continue.

US threatens to quit nuke talks; Iran blames West for divide

Kerry signaled that diplomats won't conclude an agreement with Iran over the coming hours — another delay that this time could complicate American efforts to quickly implement any deal.

The Iranians immediately fired back, accusing the U.S. and its European allies of causing the deadlock.

Nuke deal remains elusive after deadline, but talks continue

"We knew it would have been difficult, challenging, and sometimes hard," said Federica Mogherini, the European Union's foreign policy chief. Negotiations, she said, will continue for the next couple of days despite hitting some "tense" moments.

As the latest target date arrived for a deal setting a decade of restrictions on Iran's nuclear program, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and other top diplomats huddled in Vienna in search of a breakthrough. 

Iran to US: Nuke deal could result in joint cooperation

Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested a deal acceptable to his country will open the door to cooperation on fighting the upsurge of Middle East extremism threatening both nations' interests.

Zarif did not mention the United States by name in his video message. 

But with the Iran six-power talks having devolved essentially into bilateral U.S.-Iran negotiations over the past year, his comments were clearly directed at the Americans, who have been the primary drivers of the crippling economic sanctions imposed on his country over its nuclear program.

UN nuke agency chief says 'more work' needed on Iran probe

Yukiya Amano, head of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, said his meetings with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani resulted in a "better understanding on some ways forward," but that "more work will be needed."

The formulation of his statement was similar to previous ones issued by the IAEA, which has struggled for nearly a decade to resolve its concerns.

Amano's trip Thursday to Tehran was significant because it represented his last chance to secure access and cooperation before a July 7 deadline for a long-term nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.

Russian foreign minister to join nuclear talks

He will meet there with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in an attempt to resolve disputes that have forced an extension of the negotiations past the June 30 deadline.

Lavrov is to arrive Tuesday, the day that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif returns to Vienna.

As Zarif flew home Sunday for consultations on how to proceed at the talks, a U.S. official confirmed that negotiators will miss a June 30 target date for a deal, aimed at limiting Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Kerry to rejoin Iran nuke talks in Vienna

The State Department said in a one-sentence statement on Wednesday that Kerry would leave for the Austrian capital on Friday. It will be his first overseas trip since breaking his leg in a bicycle accident earlier this month after a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Geneva.

Diplomats from the United States, the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany have been in intense discussions with Iranian officials in Vienna as the end-of-month deadline for a deal looms.