Iran talks stretch into another day
Major powers and Iran stretched marathon talks on Tehran's nuclear program into a second day past their deadline, with diplomats saying prospects for a preliminary agreement were finely balanced between success and collapse in the coming hours.
The negotiations, aimed at blocking Iran's capacity to build a nuclear bomb in exchange for lifting sanctions, have become bogged down over crucial details of the accord, even as the broad outlines of an agreement have been reached.
After negotiators blew past the original self-imposed deadline of midnight on March 31, they remained locked in talks through to the early hours of April 2 in the Swiss city of Lausanne.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said they would stay at least until April 2 in an effort to seal the "political" agreement, a milestone toward a final pact due by the end of June.
In a potentially hopeful sign, French Foreign Secretary Laurent Fabius returned for more talks after flying back to Paris the previous day because progress had been too slow.
One diplomat close to the talks said late on April 1 that a deal could be announced within hours but had not yet been reached, and the talks could still fall apart.