TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s president on Thursday backed an extension of his country’s nuclear negotiations with world powers underway in Vienna, saying it would be in the “interest of all” if the talks went on past their planned July 20 deadline.

The talks aim at a deal that curbs Iran’s atomic program in exchange for an end to the nuclear-related sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Negotiators have been holed up for weeks working on a plan to prevent Iran from building an atomic weapon but still letting it develop a peaceful nuclear energy program.