Iran foreign minister's Moscow visit postponed-Tass

MOSCOW, Nov 8 (Reuters) A visit to Moscow by Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki planned for tomorrow has been postponed, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quoted a diplomatic source as saying today.

''The visit has been postponed for the moment. New dates will be agreed through diplomatic channels,'' the agency quoted the source as saying.

No explanation for the postponement was given. No one at Russia's foreign ministry was available for comment.

Russia, which has a veto on the United Nations Security Council, has been reluctant to go along with U S and European Union plans to use sanctions to persuade Tehran to suspend its nuclear enrichment programme.

Reporters were invited to attend a briefing by Mottaki and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow tomorrow afternoon. The Russian foreign ministry later cancelled the invitation, saying the event was off.

Speaking on a visit to the Ukrainian capital, Lavrov said: ''As for our contacts with the Iranian leaderhsip, these contacts were planned for this week. The format is currently being worked out.'' The United States suspects Iran is using its nuclear power programme as a cover for bomb-making. Tehran says it wants the nuclear technology only to generate electricity.

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