Weeks left to rescue Iran nuclear deal, Western envoys say as talks break

"We don't have months, we rather have weeks to have an agreement," European Union envoy Enrique Mora told a news conference after a meeting that formally ended the seventh round of talks. He said he hoped they would resume this year, while some officials have mentioned Dec. 27 as a tentative date.

Officials said Iran had requested the break, while Western powers had planned on staying until Tuesday.

Mora said all sides had incorporated Iran's demands into the existing text so as to have a common basis for negotiation, but the three west European powers that signed the 2015 deal sounded less optimistic.

"We hope that Iran is in a position to resume the talks quickly, and to engage constructively so that talks can move at a faster pace," negotiators from France, Britain and Germany, the so-called E3, said in a statement, adding: "We are rapidly reaching the end of the road for this negotiation."