Europe is offering to delay sanctions on Iran, but only if Tehran agrees to return to talks with Washington and starts working again with UN nuclear inspectors. That’s the deal on the table, according to western diplomats speaking ahead of a high-stakes meeting set for Friday in Istanbul between officials from the UK,

Before the meeting in Istanbul, Iran also pushed back on suggestions of extending the United Nations resolution that ratifies a 2015 deal, nearing expiry, that was designed to curb its nuclear programme.