Tops officials continue talks for pre-dawn announcement on nuclear agreement

The Iranian top nuclear negotiator has held a late night meeting with his US and EU counterparts as reports have surfaced about a possible pre-dawn announcement on the conclusion of talks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, US Secretary of State John Kerry, and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini held the meeting in Vienna’s Palais Coburg Hotel late on Tuesday as Iranian deputy FMs Majid Takht-e Ravanchi and Abbas Araqchi continue talks with their US and EU counterparts on the finishing touches of an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program.

According to an Associated Press report quoting three diplomats familiar with the talks, the Iranian and P5+1 foreign ministers were to travel to the main offices of the UN in Vienna to announce the conclusion of the talks on Tuesday morning local time.

One of the diplomats said the reason for the pre-dawn announcement was that some of the top officials taking part in the talks need to leave Austria’s capital in the morning.

However, sources close to Iran’s negotiating team have said that an announcement on the talks would not be likely to take place before dawn.

Moreover, there are some unconfirmed reports that a plenary meeting between the two sides is expected at 10:30 a.m. local time (0830 GMT, 1:30 Tehran time) on Tuesday, which means there would no earlier announcement on the conclusion of the talks.

Catherine Ray, Mogherini’s spokesperson, has tweeted, “Hearing all kind of unfounded rumors on schedule of the night. Media will be informed in due time through official channels.” Kerry’s adviser Marie Harf retweeted the post.

According to Ray, senior negotiators of the P5+1 group are currently in a ministerial coordination meeting, which will reportedly be followed by a meeting with the Iranian team.

After missing several deadlines, foreign ministers from the P5+1, which comprises the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – plus Germany, and Iran are making last-ditch efforts in the Austrian capital to arrive at a conclusion over Tehran’s nuclear program.