In a rare interview, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani hails direct negotiations with US over nuclear programme saying it had �broken a taboo�

Agreement on lifting the sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme would be a �giant step� forward after decades of hostility by the United States, according to Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Islamic republic�s former president and its greatest political survivor.

Rafsanjani, a close confidante of Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic revolution, and a heavyweight leader himself for 40 years, hailed Iran�s decision to negotiate directly with Washington. �We have broken a taboo,� he told the Guardian in a rare and exclusive interview in his Tehran office.

Rafsanjani is a highly influential supporter of the current president, Hassan Rouhani, whose election in 2013 paved the way for nuclear talks. He was speaking on Tuesday before it was announced that the Vienna negotiations between Iran, the US and five other world powers had been extended for an additional three days after missing a second deadline. The first deadline on 30 June also passed without agreement.

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