Vienna (AsiaNews) - The deadline for an Iran nuclear deal has been extended to the end of June 2015 because, despite some progress, a comprehensive settlement has not been reached.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said it was "not possible to get an agreement by the [original] deadline" but by "keeping working at it, [it] does give us the prospect of getting to a deal".
The United States, Great Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany have been in talks with Iran over its nuclear programme.
Since the election of President Rouhani last year, Tehran has shown more flexibility; however, it continues to insist that it does not want nuclear weapons but atomic energy.
After the Vienna talks, negotiations should resume in December, and continue until 30 June 2015.
Diplomats involved in the negotiations expect to reach a political agreement by 1 March, with the full technical details of the deal confirmed by 1 July.
In the meantime, Tehran would still have access to its frozen assets during that period.
