LAUSANNE, Switzerland
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond expressed hope late Sunday that negotiations over Iran's nuclear program would bring “success in coming hours."
"We are here because we believe a deal can be done. It is in everybody's interest the deal does get done. But it has to be a deal which puts the bomb beyond Iran's reach. There can be no compromise about that," Hammond told reporters in Lausanne, Switzerland where the nuclear talks have been taking place.
"Iran is going to take a deep breath and make some tough decisions to ensure that those deadlines can be made. I am very much hopeful that we will have success in coming hours.”
Delegates from Iran, the U.S., U.K., China, France, Russia and Germany -- dubbed P5+1 -- resumed negotiations on March 26 over Iran's nuclear program and sanctions which have crippled the economy.
On the first two days in Lausanne beginning Thursday, the talks were held between Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius joined the negotiations on Saturday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreing Minister Wang Yi also arrived in Lausanne Sunday and got involved in the talks.
Mogherini said on Saturday they had never been closer to a deal in Iran's nuclear negotiations, while there were still some critical points to be resolved.
The talks had recently been ramped up amid concerns that a failure to produce a framework deal before March 31 could jeopardize any positive outcome of a final agreement, due by July 1.
The P5+1 have claimed Iran is developing nuclear weapons and want its program curbed in return for the lifting of sanctions.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
The deal sought by the six-member group would have Iran accept limits on its uranium enrichment capacity and would allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspections without interference.
