June 30th was never going to be an im-mutable deadline for reaching a comprehensive agreement between six world powers and Iran to constrain its nuclear programme. Diplomats know that the endgame is always the hardest part of any negotiation; and so it has proved. It remains likely, but far from certain, that a deal can still be done in Vienna by July 7th, the new deadline the negotiators have set themselves. Should the talks drag on any longer, a sceptical American Congress will get 60 days rather than 30 to review the accord, thanks to the August recess. That would give critics more time to muster support. But if Congress represents a problem to be overcome later, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a far more immediate obstacle. On June 23rd, just as the negotiators were starting on the final lap, Mr Khamenei set out seven red lines that, he said, Iran would never cross.
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机译：6月30日绝不是六个世界大国与伊朗达成全面协议以限制其核计划的不变的最后期限。外交官们知道，结局永远是谈判中最困难的部分。事实证明。谈判者确定的新截止日期是7月7日，仍然有可能在维也纳达成协议，但仍很不确定。如果谈判再度拖延，由于八月份的休会，持怀疑态度的美国国会将有60天而不是30天的时间对该协议进行审查。那将给批评家更多的时间来争取支持。但是，如果国会提出一个待解决的问题，那么伊朗最高领导人阿亚图拉·阿里·哈梅内伊（Ayatollah Ali Khamenei）则是一个更为紧迫的障碍。 6月23日，就在谈判人员进入最后一圈之际，哈梅内伊先生提出了7条红线，他说伊朗永远不会越过。
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