An Iranian official says Tehran will consider the European Union’s offer of nuclear technology in exchange for abandoning its uranium enrichment programme- a key process in producing atomic bombs.

The comments came after an Iranian delegation met with senior French, British and German officials in the Austrian capital Vienna. Diplomats said the EU’s “big three” had the reluctant blessing of the United States. That is despite Washington’s belief that Iran is using the talks to buy time. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations watchdog, meets in November to discuss the issue. If the EU’s offer is rejected, most members states are likely to back US demands that Tehran be reported to the UN Security Council for possible economic sanctions. The IAEA has been investigating Iran’s nuclear programme for more than two years and has not found a so-called smoking gun. This week Iran said it had successfully tested a new version of a missile that is thought to be nuclear-capable.

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