"There's no real limit," said the diplomat on condition of anonymity shortly after Washington set the weekend as a deadline to reply to the offer. "We're in no rush" to have an a response "in the next 24 hours."

"We hope to have a clear answer either today or tomorrow. But if it comes Monday what difference does it make," the diplomat added.

After a meeting with Iran's negotiator in Geneva, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana asked for a response in two weeks, but "if it's in 16 days instead of 14 it's not a problem. We are not obsessed with a date."

The package of incentives, drawn up by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, offers Tehran technology and negotiations if it suspends uranium enrichment, which the West fears could be used to make atomic weapons.

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