'Frank and detailed' nuclear talks held with European powers: Iran

Iranian diplomats said they held "frank and detailed" nuclear talks on July 25 with counterparts from Germany, Britain and France, which have threatened to trigger sanctions if Tehran fails to agree to a deal on uranium enrichment and cooperation with UN inspectors.

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The meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, was the first since Israel launched an attack on Iran in June targeting key nuclear and military sites, sparking a 12-day war and leading Tehran to pull away from working with UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The European diplomats were seen leaving the Iranian consulate after spending several hours inside.

Israel's offensive — which killed top commanders, nuclear scientists and hundreds of others and in which residential areas and military sites were struck — also derailed US-Iran nuclear talks that began in April.

Since then, the European powers, known as the E3, have threatened to trigger a so-called "snapback mechanism" under a moribund 2015 nuclear deal that would reinstate UN sanctions on Iran by the end of August.

The sanctions trigger expires in October, and Tehran has warned of consequences should the E3 opt to activate it.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who attended the talks alongside senior Iranian diplomat Majid Takht-Ravanchi, wrote on X that he had used the meeting to criticize the European stance on the 12-day conflict with Israel.

He said the snapback mechanism had also been discussed, adding: "It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue."