BERLIN - A senior Iranian official will meet high-ranking German and European Union officials in Berlin next week to warn against a crackdown on Iran over its nuclear activity at a June 6-8 G8 summit, diplomats said on Friday.

Two diplomats said the Iranian official coming to Germany was Javad Vaeedi, deputy to chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani. Several European diplomats said his most likely interlocutors would be the German and EU political directors.

The meeting will be a follow-up to this week's talks in Madrid between Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana which produced no breakthrough on Tehran's core dispute with the West -- its refusal to suspend nuclear enrichment as a precondition for negotiations on trade benefits.

But it will not entail formal negotiations on the issue of Iran's nuclear programme and the talks will be unofficial.

Diplomats said Iran hoped to use the Berlin visit to make it clear that Iranian cooperation with the West will depend on the outcome of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations in Heiligendamm, Germany.

"If they (the G8) adopt a tougher stance, then Iran's stance will become tougher as well," said a diplomat close to the Madrid talks between Larijani and Solana.

It was not immediately clear when the meeting would take place, though two diplomats said it should happen right before the summit, which G8 president Germany is hosting.

Diplomats said the issue of Iraq might also come up at the Berlin meeting. The United States accuses Iran of supporting insurgents in Iraq, a charge the Islamic Republic denies.

It was not immediately clear why a senior German official was joining the talks. For the last year Solana's office has generally been the West's official interlocutor with Iran.

More Sanctions to Come?

Earlier this week G8 foreign ministers met in Germany and issued a tough statement warning Iran that it will face "further appropriate measures" if it continues to ignore UN Security Council demands that it suspend uranium enrichment.

The Security Council has already slapped two rounds of sanctions on Iran.

The West accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian atomic energy programme. Tehran says its nuclear programme is aimed solely at the peaceful generation of electricity and refuses to stop enrichment.

A diplomat with access to intelligence said Iran hoped to use the unofficial talks to get Berlin to "lend support to an interim solution that would not include full suspension".

However, one German government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Chancellor Angela Merkel would never agree to such an "interim solution", even though some foreign ministry officials might be amenable to it.

"She's not going to break ranks with the Americans, French and Britain, who want a full suspension," he said.

But Solana said Iran indicated more willingness to cooperate with UN watchdog inquiries into the nature its programme.