Nuke dialogue with Iran nearing ‘end of road’

Western powers on Friday reported some progress in talks to save the landmark Iran nuclear deal, but European diplomats warned that they were "rapidly reaching the end of the road".

In a blow to European mediators, Iran requested a new pause in the talks in Vienna, which aim to bring the United States back into the 2015 agreement and roll back nuclear activities. The Islamic republic stepped up its nuclear projects after the US withdrawal.

The talks had just resumed in late November after a five-month break following the election of a new hardline government in Iran.

"There has been some technical progress in the last 24 hours, but this only takes us back nearer to where the talks stood in June," Britain, France and Germany, known as E3, said in a statement.

"We are rapidly reaching the end of the road for this negotiation."

Iranian officials did not explain why they had requested a break other than to say there would be consultations in Tehran.

"If the other party accepts Iran's logical views, the next round of talks can be the last round," Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani told reporters.

Underlying Western concerns are fears that Iran will soon have made enough progress that the 2015 accord -- under which it was promised economic relief in return for drastic curbs on its nuclear work -- will be obsolete.

Enrique Mora, the EU official chairing the talks, called for a "sense of urgency" and for talks to resume before the end of the year. "We are not talking anymore about months, we are talking about weeks," Mora said.

The Biden administration has said it is willing to lift sanctions but only if Iran returns to compliance. Amid the deadlock, the United States has increasingly spoken of a "Plan B" of pressure if talks fail.

A group of former officials including Obama's defense secretary Leon Panetta and retired general David Petraeus in a joint statement urged Biden to arrange high-profile military exercises or other actions to strike fear into Iran.