Iran FMto hold Paris talks

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will hold talks with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris this week, France's foreign ministry said Monday.

Tehran is under pressure from Western powers to allow inspectors from the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), into its facilities.

"Foreign Minister Araghchi will travel to France on Wednesday and hold talks with the minister," the French ministry said, adding it would be the opportunity to urge Iran to resume its cooperation with the IAEA.

Western countries accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, a claim Tehran has systematically denied.

In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a 12-day war that the United States briefly joined with strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities.

The war derailed high-level nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington that had begun in April, during which the two sides were at odds over Iran's right to enrich uranium -- which Tehran defends as "inalienable".