VIENNA (Sputnik) The work is still under way, and the deal is expected to be signed a few days after the deadline.
Negotiators from Russia, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Iran convened in Vienna last week to iron out the remaining differences and reach a final agreement with Iran to guarantee the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, putting an end to a decade-long standoff.
The foreign ministers ofthe negotiating states, apart fromRussia and China, arrived inVienna overthe weekend and left toreturn later, when the text ofthe agreement is aboutto be finalized. Russia's foreign minister will join the talks onTuesday. China is currently represented byits vice foreign minister.
Political directors and experts have worked onthe text ofthe agreement inrecent days. The two main remaining issues are the timing ofthe lifting ofthe sanctions and the scale ofthe IAEA inspections ofIranian sites.
In April, Iran and the P5+1 group ofinternational mediators reached a political framework agreement inthe Swiss city ofLausanne, which stipulates that Tehran cut back its uranium enrichment activities and decrease the number ofcentrifuges inexchange forsanctions relief.