Jonathan Powell, the UK prime minister's national security adviser, attended the final talks between the US and Iran, which ended two days before the attack started.

Powell reportedly judged that Tehran's offer on its nuclear program was "surprising" and that progress had been made.

He was attending the talks at Oman's ambassadorial residence in Cologny, Geneva, as an adviser, accompanied by an expert from the UK's Cabinet Office.

The UK team "were surprised by what the Iranians put on the table."

"It was not a complete deal, but it was progress and was unlikely to be the Iranian's final offer. The British team expected the next round of negotiations to go ahead on the basis of the progress in Geneva."

The UK assessed there was no evidence that Iran was close to securing a nuclear weapon, or that there was an imminent threat of an Iranian missile attack on Europe.

Further talks were scheduled for Monday 2 March.

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