German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Vienna
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in ViennaReuters

German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said Saturday that the outcome of Iran’s nuclear talks with six world powers was “completely open,” AFP reported.

Despite huge gaps in the negotiations, “we have never been closer in more than 10 years,” Steinmeier said as he joined the talks in Vienna.

“If Iran is ready to take this opportunity then movement is possible ... Whether we can get a result is right now completely open,” he added.

“We will do whatever we can and if we can’t then we will leave ourselves open to the accusation that we have missed out on something that could have resolved this standoff,” Steinmeier added.

Iran and six world powers are holding talks in Vienna in an attempt to reach a lasting agreement on Tehran's disputed nuclear program before a deadline on Monday.

Steinmeier was due to be briefed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammed Javad Zarif here three times since Thursday.

Iranian sources said Zarif was also due to meet the German top diplomat, according to AFP.

Besides Iran, Germany and the United States, the talks involve Russia, China, France and Britain.

The Islamic Republic hotly denies its nuclear program is meant to build a nuclear weapon, even though the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has revealed Iran is not abiding by the interim conditions in refusing to answer questions on the military aspects of its program.

Iran has been toughening its stance in recent weeks. Iran’s chief negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, recently said he sees no prospect for a deal unless the other side abandons its “illogical excessive demands”.

A senior Iranian official followed those comments by declaring that Iran will demand that all Western sanctions be lifted as part of a final deal, rejecting an American proposal of a gradual lifting of sanctions.