Iran and world powers failed in an enormous diplomatic push to seal a landmark nuclear deal by a Monday deadline, deciding instead to give themselves seven more months to reach agreement. Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will seek to strike an outline deal by March 1 and to nail down a full technical accord by July 1, officials said.
"We have had to conclude that it is not possible to get to an agreement by the deadline that was set for today (Monday) and therefore we will extend... to June 30 2015," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in Vienna. "There will be further meetings in December. Our target is to reach a headline agreement, an agreement on the substance, within the next three months or so" and all technical aspects by July 1, he told reporters. In the best chance to resolve the 12-year stand-off over Iran's nuclear programme, the so-called P5+1 world powers have been for months seeking to turn an interim deal with Iran that expires at midnight (2300 GMT) into a lasting accord.
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