A new round of talks on Iran's controversial nuclear programme will "most probably" take place in Istanbul, Tehran's foreign minister said during a visit to Turkey Wednesday, Turkish media reported.

"I am not sure, but most probably it will be in Istanbul," Ali Akbar Salehi said, a year after the last round of talks collapsed.

The date will be set in "the near future," Salehi was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.

Iranian officials have said Tehran is ready for talks with world powers on its nuclear programme, which the West believes masks a drive to develop atomic weapons.

Tehran insists the nuclear drive is exclusively for peaceful purposes.

In Ankara, Salehi said his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, was in contact with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and European Union chief diplomat Catherine Ashton.

The negotiations between the Islamic republic and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany -- were last held in Istanbul in January 2011, but made no progress.

Salehi was due to meet Wednesday with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, an embassy spokesman said, adding that political and economic issues would figure high on the agenda, without elaborating.

The Iranian minister would also attend a joint economic committee meeting Wednesday and the next day will meet with Davutoglu over lunch, said the spokesman.

Iran is subject to four rounds of UN sanctions over its nuclear programme. The United States has been spearheading a campaign to squeeze Iran's oil exports to put greater pressure on Tehran's disputed programme.

The European Union is considering other measures that could include an embargo on Iranian oil imports, with foreign ministers to meet on the issue at the end of this month.

Turkey has repeatedly said it is only bound by sanctions decided by the UN Security Council.

Iran provided about 40 percent of Turkey's oil needs in 2011 and its biggest refiner Tupras recently made a deal to purchase nine million tons of crude oil from Tehran.

Turkey optimistic on Iran talks but EU says no progress
Brussels (AFP) Jan 18, 2012 - Turkey's foreign minister said Wednesday that both Iran and global powers were ready and willing to restart talks on Tehran's controversial nuclear programme, but the EU said there was no progress.

"Both sides declared the intention to meet and to restart the negotiations" but "of course it is up to both sides to decide," Ahmet Davutoglu said during a visit to NATO headquarters.

The minister told journalists that during his recent visit to Tehran "Iran declared that they are ready to restart the talks".

"Before that I had consultations with Madame (Catherine) Ashton," who represents six world powers in the nuclear negotiations with Iran which have been in limbo for a year.

"She in fact asked me to consult this with the Iranian side as well. And afterwards I talked with Madame Ashton again," he said. "We will be happy to host this new round of talks."

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said during a visit to Turkey Wednesday that the next round of talks would probably be in Istanbul and that a date would be set in the near future, Turkish media reported.

Davutoglu is to meet Salehi on Thursday and join EU foreign ministers for talks on Monday that will touch both on Iran and Syria.

A spokesman for Ashton was less optimistic than Davutoglu.

"We've always said we're open for talks," Michael Mann told AFP. "However we will not do so until there's a response from Iran in substance to the (EU) High Representative's letter of October last year."

Ashton sent a letter to Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in October proposing renewed talks as long as Tehran imposed no pre-conditions, but Mann said she had still not received a formal reply.

Ashton's spokesman said the 5+1 group -- permanent UN Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus non-permanent member Germany -- has repeatedly said it is "open for discussions on confidence-building measures on the Iranian nuclear programme, without pre-conditions from the Iranian side."

The last round of talks took place in Turkey in January 2011.