The head of the UN nuclear watchdog has called on Iran to accept strict inspection of its atomic programme to help dispel US claims it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.
The watchdog's board members have already received copies of a harsh report on Iran by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mr Mohammed El Baradei and will discuss it during a board meeting running this week in Vienna.
"The report points out that Iran has failed to report certain nuclear material and activities, and that corrective actions are being taken in co-operation with the Iranian authorities," Mr El Baradei said in a speech to the board.
He has also called on Iran to sign an Additional Protocol with the IAEA to grant inspectors wider access and more intrusive, short-notice inspections to provide credible assurances about Iran's atomic plans.
A spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said Tehran might be willing to sign it, although he repeated Iran's demands for access to nuclear technology in exchange for the government's signature.
A senior Iranian delegate at the board meeting complained to reporters that Washington was unduly pressuring the IAEA board, though he said a "reasonable" statement from the board on Iran's nuclear programme might provoke a positive response from Tehran.
The European Union is due today to demand that Iran accept "urgently and unconditionally" tougher inspections of its nuclear programme, linking compliance to a pending trade deal.
Iran has repeatedly rejected the IAEA's request to take environmental samples at the Kalaye Electric Company, where parts for uranium-enriching centrifuges were built and Mr El Baradei appealed to Tehran to grant the IAEA access.
Iran denies it wants to do anything other than generate electricity at its nuclear facilities.