A meeting between foreign policy chief of the European Union (EU) Javier Solana and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator has been postponed till after the Group Eight (G8) foreign ministers meet on Thursday, an EU diplomat said yesterday.

The meeting between Solana and Ali Larijani, originally slated for this week, has been postponed to sometime next week, the diplomat said, without giving a reason for the delay.

Solana will discuss with Larijani a package of incentives for Iran to stop uranium enrichment, which the United States and the EU fear could be used to produce nuclear weapons.

On June 6, the EU offered Iran the incentive package concerning the Iranian nuclear issue, which had been agreed on by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said his country would make a formal reply in mid-August.

Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear program is aimed to generate power to meet the country's surging electricity demand.

Thursday's G8 foreign ministers' meeting in Moscow, Russia, may come up with a statement, setting a deadline for Iran's compliance.

The meeting comes before a G8 summit on July 15-16 in Russia.