EU Extends Iran Sanctions Freeze for 7 Days for Nuclear Talks

The European Union has extended a freeze on sanctions targeting Iran by one week, EU officials said Tuesday, as tense talks on agreeing a nuclear deal continue in Vienna.

"To allow more time for the ongoing negotiations to reach a long term solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, the Council has prolonged until 7 July 2015 the suspension of EU restrictive measures," a European Council statement said.

The move comes before a midnight (2200 GMT) deadline for a deal to end the 13-year standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions is expected to be extended for a few days. 

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has joined U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for talks in Vienna which their Russian and German counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, were also set to join, according to sources. 

A framework deal on Iran's nuclear program was drawn up in April in Lausanne, Switzerland but turning that 505-word joint statement into a fully-fledged agreement has proved tough work.

This is the third time the EU sanctions freeze has been extended.