Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif returned to Vienna on Tuesday to rejoin the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program with a group of six world powers, as they try to reach a long-sought comprehensive agreement.

Zarif flew back to Iran on Sunday for consultations with officials.  He came back to Vienna with Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s nuclear chief, and Hossein Fereidoun, a brother and special advisor of President Hassan Rouhani.

The delegations originally gave themselves until Tuesday to come to an agreement, but officials from both sides have said they expect the talks to continue beyond that point.

A senior U.S. administration official said they are not looking for a long-term extension, but that it would be no “surprise” if negotiators needed more than two extra days.  The official noted that what is currently under negotiation is considerably more detailed than the April 2 framework deal that set the parameters for a final agreement.

“This is staggeringly consequential for everybody,” the official said.

“This is incredibly consequential for the national security of the United States. This is quite consequential for the national security of all of the P5+1 partners, the regions, the Middle East, the world and for Iran,” the official added.

Sticking Points

Negotiators have been tight-lipped about details from the talks but the sticking points are believed to include access that inspectors from the U.N.’s nuclear agency would have to Iranian sites as well as the pace at which sanctions against Iran would be lifted.

There have also been concerns about managed access – how quickly International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors could be cleared to visit suspected sites.

In Monday’s briefing, the administration official said the world powers engaged in talks with Iran had added a procedure to the plan of action under discussion that would ensure that IAEA inspectors would get managed access when they believed they needed it.

Earlier Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry led a delegation that met with Yukiya Amano, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

As he headed into the talks at the ornate Palais Coburg hotel, Kerry said, “We are just working and it is too early to make any judgments.”

When asked if he expected the nuclear negotiators to reach an agreement, he said, “We will see.”

Plea for Detained American

On the sidelines of the nuclear talks on Monday, family members of detained Iranian-American Amir Hekmati made a passionate plea for his return, urging Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Zarif to take up his plight during their talks.

“I want my brother home,” said Hekmati’s sister, Sarah Hekmati.

“I want my dad to hold his son again. I want mom’s heart to stop breaking…I want this nightmare to end,” she said.

Family members said they fear Hekmati contacted tuberculosis while in prison.

Iranian officials arrested Hekmati in 2011 and charged him with espionage. He is one of three American citizens being held in Iran.

The senior administration official said Kerry has had “direct” conversations with Zarif about the missing Americans and that U.S. officials work on their behalf on a daily basis.

Chris Hannas contributed to this report from Washington.
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