The group of P5+1 international mediators and Iran are in the final days before reaching a nuclear deal.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko, Daria Chernyshova — As the group of P5+1 international mediators and Iran are in the final days before reaching a deal on Tehran's controversial nuclear program, the sides notice they have never been as close to the deal as now.

Final Chords

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Sunday that if the deal could be achieved, it should be struck now.

"I think this is really the last mile of these negotiations," Mogherini told reporters Sunday. "If the deal could be closed, it is now."

Moreover, she ruled out the possibility of a plan B in the talks, saying that "if you work on plan A, you stick with the plan A."

Earlier in the day, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said that reaching a deal on the Iran nuclear program will open new horizons for the cooperation between the European Union and Iran, as it would give "a new chance for a better cooperation between Europe and Iran, especially on the economic level."

He stressed that lifting of sanctions would provide for more possibilities to cooperate with Iran, but noted that sanction relief is part of the ongoing talks in Vienna.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Sunday that Iran and the international negotiators seek to finalize talks on Tehran's controversial nuclear program within the next two days, until the July 7 deadline.

"The main thing to know is to see if Iran makes clear commitments," Fabius told reporters.

Unresolved Issues

The US Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that although Tehran and the P5+1 group have made a genuine progress in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, most important issues are still unresolved.

"Over the past few days we have in fact made and genuine progress but I want to be absolutely clear with everybody we are not yet where we need to be on several and the most difficult issues," Kerry told reporters in Vienna.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Sunday that outline for the final agreement on Tehran's nuclear deal became more clear but there still some aspects to be completed ahead of the deadline.

According to a source close to the negotiating process, one of the sticking points hindering the deal is the debate on the possibility of issuing a UN Security Council statement immediately after reaching a nuclear deal.

"One of the sticking points now is whether at least a UNSC statement, not a resolution, will be issued immediately after the deal is reached," the source told Sputnik Sunday.

Another contentious issue is the lifting of anti-Iran sanctions. The P5+1 insist on Iran making first steps in implementing the commitments undertaken under the deal, and Iran wants the sanctions relief first, or at least a written commitment that all the sanctions would be lifted, the source explained.

The source added that the roadmap for the easing of sanctions would be detailed in the annexes to the deal.

All The Foreign Ministers of the P5+1 countries are expected to gather in Vienna on Monday to finalize the remaining issues that do not allow the deal to be struck.

By Sputnik