France, Germany and Britain will hold talks on Thursday, Jan 29, with Iran in Istanbul, the European Union said, as part of efforts to end a 12-year standoff over Tehran's atomic ambitions, Reuters reports.

The talks will be at the level of political directors to lay the ground for a political deal by the end of June. The EU's political director, Helga Schmid, will also attend.

"The meeting underlines the commitment and importance that the E3, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as the EU attach to making progress as soon as possible towards a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue," the EU said in a statement.