European officials have warned of a "managed crisis" in Europe's dialogue with Iran over the country's nuclear ambitions, after Iranian negotiators said they would consider resuming part of the uranium enrichment process suspended since 2003.

The meeting between the two sides in London on Friday "had a good atmosphere but was clear cut", said a senior European diplomat in Tehran. He added: "The Iranian negotiators are trying to put pressure on Europe and, at the same time, they are responding to domestic critics of the process. They seem to want a managed crisis, or rather a crisis they think they can manage."