Iran's nuclear negotiator and the EU foreign policy chief meet again on Sunday after what they termed "constructive talks" in search of compromise that might avert looming UN sanctions over Tehran's atomic program.

The European Union's Javier Solana was trying to clarify whether Iran might shift closer to satisfying a demand to stop enriching uranium to qualify for trade benefits offered by world powers and pre-empt sanctions by the UN Security Council.

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The United States is pushing to begin sanctions steps against Iran, its arch Middle East foe, next week over Tehran's refusal to halt its nuclear fuel drive before any negotiations to put the wide-ranging incentives offer into effect.

Washington's EU allies share its suspicions that Iran's nuclear work is a veiled bid to assemble atom bombs rather than a quest for an alternative electricity source as Tehran insists.

But, fearing the economic repercussions of isolating the world's No. 4 oil supplier, many in the EU prefer a face-saving compromise that might lie in getting Tehran to curb enrichment after the start of a process to implement the benefits package.

Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani said Saturday's three hours of talks in Vienna focused on the package and Iran's Aug. 22 reply to it, which Western leaders criticized as obfuscatory.

"We had some good and constructive talks and ... have made some progress in some areas," he said.

Solana's spokeswoman Cristina Gallach said the talks were "positive and constructive" and they would resume in Austria's ornate chancellery (prime minister's offices) on Sunday morning.

An EU diplomat, asking for anonymity to discuss confidential details of the talks, said the critical issue of how to sequence an enrichment halt and negotiations was discussed.

"The fact they are reconvening shows they think it is worth it. They may reach a point tomorrow where they feel it will be worth continuing (after Sunday). That would be a sufficiently good result. We don't think it will be resolved tomorrow."

Tensions surged after Iran ignored an Aug. 31 deadline, approved in a Security Council resolution sponsored by the United States, three major EU allies and Russia and China, to stop enrichment work before talks to carry out the incentives.

In the talks, Solana wanted Larijani to clarify Iran's dense and nuanced 21-page reply to the offer from six world powers of commercial and other inducements to halt its nuclear fuel work.

Specifically, Solana sought to harden up hints in the response that Tehran could curb the program via negotiations.

Larijani meanwhile had been expected to again rule out the powers' precondition that enrichment be suspended indefinitely.

The United States has given no indication of willingness to compromise on the issue of starting talks with Iran before it suspends enrichment. But several EU diplomats told reporters that the French and Germans might be willing to consider such a deal.

"Some NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) countries have told us that the Iranians would be willing to suspend enrichment for the duration of the talks, say two years. We haven't heard this directly from the Iranians," one of the diplomats said.

He said Tehran would be loath to give up small-scale enrichment research and development (RiD) but that this was also something Russia, China, France and Germany could live with.

The United States and Britain appeared less inclined to back down regarding RiD, he added.