Ivanov is due to hold talks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, national security chief and top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, the semi-official Mehr news agency said.

He will also hold a joint press conference with Larijani on Sunday.

Russia supports Iran's right to peaceful nuclear technology but voted for a UN Security Council resolution in December that imposes sanctions on Iran for its repeated refusal to freeze controversial uranium enrichment work.

Russia is building Iran's first nuclear power plant at Bushehr on the Gulf coast. It has been criticised by Washington for delivering TOR-M1 surface-to-air missile defence systems to Iran.

In a joint statement with India on Thursday, Russia called for "diplomacy and dialogue" in the worsening dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, but also urged Tehran to comply with UN demands.

Iran says its nuclear drive is aimed at peaceful energy generation, vehemently denying charges that it could be diverted towards weapons development.

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