Senior Iranian official bitterly accuses west of changing stance and walking back from positions as negotiations in Vienna looks sure to pass US deadline

The Iranian delegation at Vienna nuclear talks has hit out against western negotiators, accusing them of changing their stance and presenting multiple positions, as the negotiations looked almost certain to pass a US congressional deadline.

“There have been changes of positions and walking back from positions,” a senior Iranian official told journalists, but speaking on condition of anonymity. In unusually bitter remarks, he also complained the six world powers negotiating with Iran in Vienna were no longer sticking to a common position.

“It’s not like a multilateral negotiation. It’s like we’re doing five bilateral negotiations,” the official said. “Everyone now has their own red line. There is one red line for the the US, there is one red line for the UK, there is one line for the France. One red line for Germany. They come to us and say: I’m flexible on his red line, but not on mine.”

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This article was written by Julian Borger for The Guardian on July 9, 2015. Julian Borger is the Guardian's diplomatic editor. He was previously a correspondent in the US, the Middle East, eastern Europe and the Balkans.