John Kerry stays in Vienna in bid to hammer out Iran nuclear deal

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The US secretary of state, John Kerry, and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, cancelled flights on Friday and held unscheduled late-night talks in an attempt to break the deadlock on Iran’s nuclear program.

Zarif had planned to fly back to Iran from Vienna to consult leaders in Tehran on the next steps, after four days of intensive negotiations in the Austrian capital failed to bring a breakthrough. Kerry had intended to fly to Paris, to consult the French government and wait for Zarif’s return.

However, both men changed their minds, opting for a face-to-face session.

The French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, also delayed his flight, and held a late-night meeting with Kerry. France has been the most sceptical of a deal among the western nations represented at the Vienna talks.

“We have not yet determined when we will depart, but will stay in Vienna overnight,” the State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said.

A western diplomat had described the day’s talks as “sombre and serious” with several obstacles still to be overcome.

The British foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, who took part in the multilateral talks on Friday afternoon, said there was still a “very significant gap” to close.

“We have had a series of useful discussions. These are very complex issues and there is still a very significant gap between the parties,” Hammond said. “We’re all going to go away and have further technical discussions with our experts and we will resume again over the course of the weekend.”

Earlier, Hammond had told reporters: “It’s clear that both sides want to get a deal done. But none of us want to do a bad deal and we’re very clear we have to get more flexibility from the Iranians. In return, we’re prepared to show some flexibility on our side. But time is short.”

Hammond added: “There is clearly an interest on the Iranian side to get a deal done. The prize for Iran is huge. Access to very large amounts of frozen assets, the ability to trade freely with the world again, and the ability to reset relationships with the international community, so there is a huge prize on the table for Iran.”

Fabius urged Iran to “seize this opportunity” for an agreement. A comprehensive deal, which would have to involve Iranian acceptance of significant curbs on its program in return for sanctions relief, would bring to an end a 12-year standoff over Iran’s nuclear aspirations.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and Kerry agreed that extra efforts were needed to reach a deal by the self-imposed deadline of Monday, Russia’s foreign ministry said.

The main gaps between the two sides concern Iran’s future capacity to enrich uranium, and the speed and sequence in which international sanctions on Iran are lifted.