Iran talks failure 'not ruled out': German source

Iran talks failure 'not ruled out': German source
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Summary Comments came after a day of talks between the foreign ministers of Iran and six major powers

VIENNA (AFP) - Talks seeking a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and major powers may yet fail, a German diplomatic source said Monday during a break in negotiations in Vienna on the eve of a deadline.

"We are not there yet... We should not underestimate that important questions remain unresolved. There will not be an agreement at any price. If there is no movement in decisive areas a failure is not ruled out," the source said.

The comments came after a day of talks between the foreign ministers of Iran and six major powers -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France -- in the Austrian capital.

They are seeking an accord that ends a 13-year-old standoff over Iran s nuclear programme by scaling down its activities in return for relief from painful sanctions.

Last week an earlier deadline was effectively extended by seven days to July 7 by extending the terms of an interim deal from November 2013.

But on Monday an Iranian official suggested that his delegation had never really considered Tuesday as a deadline.

"July 7, July 8, we do not consider these dates as those dates we have to finish our job," the official, who asked not to be named, told reporters.

 

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