PHOTO: Head of Iran’s technical team, Ali Akbar Salehi, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wave to journalists on Friday (Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)

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Diplomats are pointing to a final nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 Powers on Sunday, as the European Union’s foreign policy head writes of “decisive hours” in the talks in Vienna.

Federica Mogherini posted photos of her discussions with other EU officials and US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman, and of the centerpiece talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry:

Kerry put out his own brief message on Twitter:

The British, French, and German Foreign Ministers returned to Vienna on Saturday, but the absence of Russia’s Sergei Lavrov and China’s Wang Yi indicated that an announcement of success was not imminent.

Officials from Iran and the 5+1 have now met continuously for more than two weeks in Vienna — the eighth round of negotiations since a nuclear framework was announced on April 2 — in pursuit of a deal. The deadline for completion was extended from June 30 to July 7. After that, it has been moved on a rolling basis, with chatter this weekend of a finish on Monday.

“I think we’ll stay in Vienna until the end of Sunday; we’re negotiating hard,” Zarif said from the balcony of the Palais Coburg hotel on Saturday, dampening hopes briefly raised by the image of him and colleagues going over the pages of the draft text.

However, those hopes have risen again this morning, with Kerry saying he is “hopeful” and an unnamed Iranian official telling Reuters, “The deal is within reach today…but some issues remain that need to be resolved by foreign ministers.”

In Tehran, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani said a deal is “almost there”.

Supreme Leader: Challenge to “Arrogance” of US Continues After Nuclear Deal

Maintaining his criticism of the US amid the final stages of nuclear talks, the Supreme Leader has indicated that a deal will not necessarily mean improved relations between Tehran and Washington.

Khamenei told university students on Saturday:

Khamenei drew the lines of the contest with the appeal to Iranian students that they are “very energetic; completely contrary to what biased Western centers and foreign sources report”.

He then said that European youth are depressed so they join the Islamic State “with the aim of suicide”.

KHAMENEI IRANIAN STUDENT