LAUSANNE (Sputnik) — Iran and the six major world powers are striving to resolve several multifaceted problems that hinder a nuclear deal, and more time is needed to do that, the head of Iran's expert team said late Monday.
"It is not just the sanctions issue that poses obstacles to the deal," Iranian Foreign Ministry's Director General for Political and International Security Affairs, Hamid Baeidinejad, told journalists in Lausanne, Switzerland.
He explained that each issue is related to the other one. "There are different layers in each issue, and we have to discuss them all," Baeidinejad noted.
The Iranian official added that the sides had no kind of program but would discuss the whole spectrum of issues.
Baeidinejad expressed his hope that "new ideas can come up." "It is not finished yet. We will continue talks in the morning," he vowed.
The current deadline is due to expire on Tuesday night. By this time, the sides are to hammer out a political framework that will set the stage for a comprehensive agreement on Iran's nuclear research by June 30, 2015.
Negotiators aim at securing an accord with Iran that will see it dismantle parts of its nuclear program and reduce the production of nuclear fuel, which can also be used for nuclear weapons. Iran insists its research is of purely peaceful nature.
Sanctions, which the United Nations and some Western powers have in place for Iran, have been one of the sticking points. Iran wants them to be lifted at once, while negotiators want restrictions to be eased over time.
