Iran's response to a letter from the European Union aimed at reviving talks on Tehran's nuclear programme contains nothing new and does not appear to justify another meeting, the bloc said on Wednesday.

"On its own, Mr Jalili's letter does not contain anything new and does not seem to justify a further meeting," said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, referring to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator.

"We are surprised to hear the Iranians talking about meetings. They have not been in touch with us with any proposals," she said. "We will be in touch with the Iranians with the aim of creating the basis to renew dialogue."

In March, the six world powers that have taken part in the talks with Iran said "the door remains open" for dialogue but made clear Tehran must engage in good-faith negotiations to solve the eight-year dispute.

The Iranian negotiator, Saeed Jalili, responded on Tuesday to a letter sent by Ashton three months ago aimed at getting Iran to commit to new talks.

He said the talks should be just and "refrain from resorting to pressure instruments".

Reuters