ANKARA 

Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear capabilities were extended for a week on Tuesday, the U.S. said.

Hours before a deadline to complete the talks was reached, Iran and the six powers involved extended the time limit to July 7 to “allow more time for negotiations to reach a long-term solution”, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf tweeted.

The additional time will allow Iran and the P5+1 - the U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany - to resolve issues such as the removal of sanctions on Iran and access to Iranian nuclear facilities.

The EU also announced it had extended the suspension of sanctions on Iran until next week, according to a statement on the European Council’s website.

Under a joint plan of action between the two sides, Iran agreed to a limited suspension of uranium enrichment and to allow international inspectors into its nuclear facilities in return for a degree of sanctions relief.

The EU agreed to suspend the ban on Iranian petrochemical products and crude oil as well as other services.

Iran hopes a successful agreement will result in the immediate and full removal of all sanctions imposed by the EU and the U.S. although it refuses to allow international access to military sites.

The sanctions were put in place due to the suspicion that Iran was working towards building a nuclear weapon. Tehran claims its nuclear program is civil and has no military application.