VIENNA — Progress has been made in resolving some of the toughest issues in the Iran nuclear talks in recent days, but the parties need more time to finalize a durable agreement, US Secretary of State John Kerry said here Nov. 24, as Iran and the six world powers announced they would extend an interim nuclear deal seven more months, and give themselves four more months to reach a political agreement for a comprehensive nuclear accord.

“Progress was indeed made on some of the most vexing challenges that we face, and we now see the path toward potentially resolving some issues that have been intractable,” Kerry told journalists at a press conference here after four days of intense, hands-on negotiations to try to finalize an Iran nuclear accord by a self-imposed Nov. 24 deadline.

"We really want this to work — but not at the cost of just anything,” Kerry said. “We want to reach a comprehensive deal and we want it to work for everybody. And we want the people of Iran to get the economic relief that they seek and to be able to rejoin the international community."

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he hoped to get the agreement done more quickly. "It is possible to reach a political framework even in weeks," Zarif told journalists in a press conference Nov. 24.