Race to sign Iran nuclear deal before Republican takeover of Congress

Negotiators are racing to complete an elusive deal on the Iranian nuclear programme before conservatives in the US and Iran can close down the talks.

The discussions have been extended until the end of June after the failure of Iran and six world powers to achieve a breakthrough in Vienna, with the aim of reaching an agreement in principle by March.

The lead negotiators, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, emerged from the talks claiming that serious progress had been made and an accord was possible within the time allowed.

“All of us are insisting that we don’t need seven months to strike a deal, because the negotiators are going to get down to work immediately,” Zarif said.

Read the full article at The Guardian.