Iran said its latest talks with the United Arab Emirates' Crescent Petroleum over a long-running price dispute were "very positive", an Iranian news agency reported on Saturday.

Iran and privately-owned Crescent, based in Sharjah, have been locked in negotiations about the price of gas exports from the Iranian offshore Salman field to the UAE since 2006.

Last month, Tehran threatened the UAE firm of domestically using the gas it planned to sell Crescent if the price dispute was not resolved.

"The results achieved are very positive and in line with providing Iran's national interests," Mehr news agency quoted Nasrollah Seifi, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Export Company, as saying when asked about Tehran's latest talks with Crescent.

He did not say when the two sides met. The UAE needs gas from the $1 billion project to meet rising domestic demand from industry and power plants, but the deal became controversial in Iran after some politicians said the export price should be higher.

Crescent has previously said the gas supply agreement signed with Iran was internationally binding. Iran has yet to complete building its facilities to pump gas to the UAE, while Crescent's offshore pipeline and processing facilities for the gas have long been complete.

Seifi reiterated Tehran's previous stance that it would use the gas for its own domestic consumption if a deal was not reached. Crescent in February said it had made progress on talks to resolve the dispute about pricing and volume for gas imports from Iran but had yet to reach a final agreement.

Tehran has no pipeline from the offshore Salman field back o Iran and therefore limited options for domestic use.

Crescent had expected first deliveries of the gas in mid-2006. The initial agreement was for the supply of 600 million cubic feet per day.

Crescent's affiliate Dana Gas will process and transport the gas to utilities and industrial users in the UAE.-Reuters