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 Though there is little hope of a breakthrough at the Istanbul meeting, six world powers began two days of talks with Iran. The two sides sat down with no sign they were ready to budge from widely differing positions.

Suspending uranium enrichment is not up for discussion at talks, a senior Iranian official said.

"We will absolutely not allow the talks to go into the issue of our basic rights like the issue of suspending enrichment," Abolfazl Zohrevand, an aide to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, told reporters.

Earlier Friday, an Iranian delegation led by Jalili met with counterparts from the so-called P5+1 group of world powers, led by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, for two-day talks in Istanbul over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.

Zohrevand however said that the meeting had kicked off in a "positive" atmosphere.

"We will focus on cooperation... The talks have been positive because both sides have come to take positive steps," he said, without elaborating.