Spotlight: Iran, world powers close to nuclear deal, more work to be done

The protracted Iran nuclear talks are entering the final stage for a historic deal, but Tehran said there was still work to do for a comprehensive agreement by Monday.

The Austrian government was arranging for a ceremony at the end of the ongoing negotiations in Vienna, and reporters would be invited to the event, a diplomat said Sunday.

Together with the arrival of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the possible ceremony is seen as a sign of the finalization of a comprehensive accord in the coming hours.

But Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that there was still work to do, and there would be "no extension" of the negotiations.

"We still have got work to do tomorrow," Zarif told reporters from his hotel balcony in Vienna. "No deal today."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius expressed the hope that the nuclear talks would be concluded Monday with a comprehensive deal.

"I hope, I hope that we have finally entered the last phase of this negotiation marathon," he said.

Iran and the sexpartite group -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United States -- have been negotiating for nearly two weeks in Vienna for a comprehensive deal on Iran's nuclear issue.

Following the presentation of a framework agreement in Lausanne, Switzerland, in April, the parties were originally set to reach a final deal on June 30.

As some tough issues remained, they postponed the deadline to July 7 and then to July 13.

Suspicious Western countries seek to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. In exchange, they are expected to lift the debilitating economic sanctions imposed on Iran in the past years.

Talks began in 2013, following the election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran's president, and an interim agreement was reached in November of that year.

The controversial issues have been the implementation of the supervision of the international community over Iran's nuclear program and the rate of the sanctions' removal.

In addition, Iranian top officials also said defense capabilities and the missile program of the country would not be included in the talks.

However, the West recently raised the issue of Iran's missiles as a sticking point in the nuclear talks. Tehran reiterated its previous stance, saying its missile program is a separate issue.

On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Vienna that difficult issues remained on the Iranian nuclear talks and they still needed to be resolved.

In Tehran, Rouhani also said further measures were still needed to overcome the remaining obstacles in the nuclear talks.

"It might seem we have reached the top of the mountain. But no, there are still steps needed to be taken," ISNA news agency quoted him as saying. "Even if we fail ... we have performed our duty."

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the international community for making concessions to Iranians in the nuclear talks.

As a known opponent to the efforts toward a comprehensive deal, Netanyahu said Iran is calling for the destruction of Israel while negotiating with world powers.

"Maybe the powers are willing to give in to a reality underwritten by Iran, including calls for the destruction of Israel, but we won't accept this," he said a Cabinet meeting. Endi