Deadline for Iran nuclear deal put back 7 months
China's foreign minister remains hopeful an agreement can be reached despite missed target
Iran and world powers failed in an enormous diplomatic push to seal a landmark nuclear deal by yesterday's deadline, deciding to give themselves seven more months - but China's foreign minister is still hopeful an agreement will ultimately be reached.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will seek to strike an outline deal by March 1 and to nail down a full technical accord by July 1, officials said.
"We have had to conclude that it is not possible to get to an agreement by the deadline that was set and therefore we will extend... to June 30, 2015," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in Vienna.
"There will be further meetings in December. Our target is to reach a headline agreement, an agreement on the substance, within the next three months or so" and all technical aspects by July 1, he told reporters.
Despite the major differences, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that an agreement was still possible.
"I think the parties, including Iran, have the political will to reach an agreement. Through concerted efforts by the parties, we will eventually reach an agreement to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue."