Crunch time for Iran nuclear deal, warns France

Decision time has arrived in talks over Iran's nuclear capacity, French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius said this weekend as negotiators strove to reach a Monday deadline. France appears to be putting pressure on both Washington and Tehran to reach agreement.

US Sectetary of State John Kerry (C) with members of the US delegation to talks with Iran in Vienna on Friday Reuters/Carlos Barria

 "I hope we are finally entering the final phase of these marathon negotiations," Fabius said in Vienna, Austria, where the talks were taking place, on Sunday. "I believe it."

In a statement on Saturday he declared that "the time has come to decide", after speaking to US Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

Faced with six powers - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - the Iranian delegation has accused the West of introducing new stumbling blocks to a deal.

Among the biggest sticking points this week has been Iran's insistence that a UN Security Council arms embargo and ban on its ballistic missile programme dating from 2006 be lifted immediately if an agreement is reached.

Russia supports Iran on the question and officials announced on Sunday that its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that he was flying to Vienna to take part in talks.