Deputy foreign ministers hopeful of agreement by 20 July but warn of opposition from anti-Rouhani hardliners and Israel
Spoilers and "dark forces" are attempting to wreck efforts to clinch a historic compromise betweenIranand the west on the country's nuclear programme, senior members of Iran's negotiating team have told the Guardian.
Speaking before a new round of expert-level talks, due to begin on Tuesday in New York, Seyed Abbas Araqchi, the deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said Iran remained hopeful that a comprehensive agreement could be reached by the 20 Julydeadline.
But Araqchi, part of Iran's three-man lead negotiating team, warned that many pitfalls remained, including a chronic lack of trust between the US and Iran, a host of inter-related technical issues, and outside attempts to derail the process.