Iran nuclear talks resume in last-ditch effort to secure deal

Negotiations over a return to the Iran nuclear deal will resume Thursday in Vienna, with participants expressing little optimism that agreement can be reached on what the European Union facilitator of the talks indicated is a last-chance attempt to finalize a new accord.

The six countries with direct roles in the negotiations — Iran, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, with the United States participating indirectly — will meet to consider a comprehensive text agreement that the E.U. foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, put on the table late last month after concluding “that the space for additional significant compromises has been exhausted.”