Kerry, Zarif race against the clock

US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart went face to face again yesterday with time running out to nail down a landmark nuclear deal in marathon talks in Vienna.

Ahead of tomorrow's final deadline, there were signs that inside the neoclassical palace-turned-hotel hosting the past nine days of talks in a hot Vienna that the end may be in sight.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain were expected back in the Austrian capital in the evening, followed possibly on Monday by their Russian and Chinese counterparts.

"Extending the talks is not an option for anyone... We are trying to finish the job," Iran's lead negotiator Abbas Araghchi told Iranian TV late Saturday, saying there was a "positive atmosphere".

But he added: "If we reach an agreement that respects our red lines then there will be a deal. Otherwise we prefer to return home to Tehran empty-handed."

Kerry said yesterday that "it is now time" to finalise a historic nuclear deal with Iran, on a ninth day of talks in Vienna between Tehran and major powers.

"It is now time to see whether or not we are able to close an agreement," Kerry told reporters ahead of tomorrow's deadline, saying that at present, the negotiations "could go either way".

"Over the past few days we have in fact made genuine progress, but I want to be absolutely clear with everybody we are not yet where we need to be on several of the most difficult issues," Kerry said.

"While I completely agree... that we have never been closer, at this point this negotiation could go either way," he said.

Building on a framework deal struck in April, the six nations want Iran to dismantle large parts of its nuclear programme for at least 10 years in exchange for progressive relief from sanctions.

This, the powers hope, will put an Iranian nuclear bomb out of reach -- an aim Tehran denies having -- and end a 13-year standoff that has at times threatened to escalate into armed conflict.

"If hard choices get made in the next couple of days, and made quickly, we could get an agreement this week. But if they are not made, we will not. So our teams remain very hard at work in the coming hours and days, we're going to go as hard as we can," Kerry said.