Chief negotiator Saeed Jalili said the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany (the P5+1) had been "more realistic" than in the past.

 

The EU's chief delegate said she hoped Iran was "looking positively¹" at proposals presented at the talks. 

 

International powers suspect Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons - a charge Iran strongly denies.

 

Iran insists its purposes are purely² civilian³, asserting it needs enriched uranium to make medical isotopes⁴.

 

Russia and Iran said technical experts from both sides would meet in March, and the P5+1 group would meet with Iran again in Almaty on 5 and 6 April.

 

The multilateral discussions were the first since a round in July 2012 ended without a breakthrough.

 

 

At a news conference after the second day of talks concluded, Mr Jalili expressed cautious optimism.

 

"Some of the points raised were more realistic compared to what they [P5+1] said in the past. And they tried to bring proximity⁵ in some points between the viewpoints of Iran and their own, which we believe is a positive step, despite the fact that we have a long way to go to reach the optimum point."

 

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton - the lead negotiator for the world powers - said she hoped Iran would be constructive⁶.

 

"I hope that the Iranian side are looking positively on the proposals we put forward," she told reporters. "The proposals we put forward are designed to build in confidence and enable us to move forward."

 

During the opening three-hour session, Baroness⁷ Ashton presented what has been described as a revised offer to Iran.

 

The proposal was thought to repeat an earlier demand to stop uranium enrichment and to shut down the Fordo underground enrichment facility. 

 

In return, some of the sanctions which have been imposed on Iran could be eased, reports say.

 

Several rounds of sanctions have squeezed Iran's economy, with oil revenue slashed⁸, the currency nose-diving in value and unemployment growing.

 

Reuters news agency quoted Mr Jalili as saying after the talks that there was "no justification⁹" for shutting Fordo, although he said the issue of 20% enrichment "can be discussed in the negotiations¹⁰... in a view of confidence-building".

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