U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stayed at the nuclear negotiating table with Iran even as the deadline passed, but several of his diplomatic colleagues abandoned the meeting in the wee morning Wednesday hours.
Philip Hammond, the U.K. foreign secretary, expressed hope shortly after the midnight deadline passed that participating players – the United States, U.K., France, China, Russia and Germany – would be able to strike a deal later Wednesday.
"I think we have a broad framework of understanding but there are still some key issues that have to be worked through," he said, BBC News reported. "Some of them are quite detailed and technical so there is still quite a lot of work to do, but we are on it now and we'll keep going at it."
He also added, BBC reported: "Fingers crossed, we hope to get there during the day."
Yet optimism among other nations' ministers seemed to fade. Several representatives left the room, despite the pressing of Kerry to continue to talk. Fox News reported representatives for France, Russia and China left the table, leaving their deputies in charge. It wasn't clear how the departure would impact negotiations Wednesday.
Formal negotiations among Kerry, Hammond and German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier continued, the Associated Press reported. The State Department, meanwhile, is painting the negotiations so far as a success.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said talks Tuesday evening had progressed well, though "there are several difficult issues still remaining," Fox News reported.