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For the first time in more than a year the global powers dealing with Iran’s disputed nuclear program said Tuesday that they would resume face-to-face negotiations.

'I have offered to resume talks with Iran on the nuclear issue,'said Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, who represents the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany in dealings with Iran. 'We hope that Iran will now enter into a sustained process of constructive dialogue which will deliver real progress.'

The resumption of negotiations could relieve rising pressure from Israel to use military force against Iran. But the decision is not without risks. Direct talks could allow Iranian negotiators to exploit various nations’ differences. Failure could offer a rationale for military strikes.

The Israelis are increasingly skeptical that international pressure will lead Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment activities, which Israel and the West suspect are a cover for Iran to achieve the ability to make nuclear weapons. Iran has said the activities are purely peaceful.

At a news conference in Washington on Tuesday, Mr. Obama defended his record on Iran against Republican critics who have called him too lenient. On the contrary, Mr. Obama said, he had deeply isolated the Iranian authorities and had helped to press them to resume negotiations.

The resumed talks represent a significant step forward because all six parties agreed to participate. But that may have been the easy part. One senior French official said that a desire to avoid a military confrontation could lead some parties to take a softer stance on Iran, looking for any small concession that could be interpreted as success.

Time is of the essence for negotiators because many fear that any stalling by Iran will give the country more time to relocate enrichment centrifuges deep inside mountain bunkers that are difficult to bomb.

There was little optimism in the West that talks would lead to significant breakthroughs, much less to an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Guido Westerwelle, Germany’s foreign minister, warned Iranian officials against using talks to stall.

Hanging over the resumption of talks is deep concern about a rerun of previous negotiations in Istanbul that broke off in January 2011 when the Iranians resisted discussing the nuclear issue. In France, Bernard Valero, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, warned against a repeat of 'the experience of the fruitless discussions in Istanbul' and underlined that Iran faced a 'united' front from global powers.

Such a failure could increase the risk of military action, said Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, an advocacy group in Washington.

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