Monday marked the second time this year that nuclear talks between Iran, the U.S. and five other powers were postponed for a later date - this time, extended for an additional seven months, reported Reuters.
The negotiations have been underway for 12 years, and revolve not only around Iran's current nuclear capabilities, but also what the country should be allowed to develop in the future.
Because the U.S. fears Iran may soon have nuclear weapons, Iran has been the target of crippling sanctions that have significantly affected its economy.
Eighty-five percent of Iranians say the international sanctions have hurt their own livelihoods, according to a Gallup poll. Fifty percent say they have been hurt "a great deal."
Needless to say, Iran is just as anxious as the U.S. to reach an agreement that will lift some of the sanctions.
An interim agreement was reached last year in which Iran stopped higher level uranium enrichment in exchange for a "limited easing" of financial and trade sanctions, which involved restoring Iranian access to some of its frozen oil revenues abroad, according to Reuters.
Even the U.S. has been affected by the sanctions it has imposed on Iran - losing some $175 billion over the past 10 years, according to one study by the National Iranian American Council.
Western officials were aiming for an agreement by March, but the technical details of the matter once again require an extension. The target date has now been extended to June 30, 2015, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond revealed.
Aside from the U.S., countries involved in the talks include France, Germany, Russia, China and Britain. The main concern is the need to further curb Iran's uranium enrichment to prolong the time it would need to build an atomic weapon.
Progress was made this time around in Vienna, according to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
"It is true that we could not reach an agreement but we can still say that big steps have been taken," he told state TV.
U.S Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Vienna, "real and substantial progress" was made, but "some significant points of disagreement" remain.
"These talks are not going to get easier just because we extend them. They're tough. They've been tough. And they're going to stay tough," Kerry said.
"We would be fools to walk away from a situation where the breakout time (for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon) has already been expanded rather than narrowed, and the world is safer because this program is in place."
