Iran nuclear row: UN inspectors barred from Iran site

The UN nuclear watchdog says Iran has stopped a team of inspectors from visiting a key military site.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says no deal has been reached on inspecting the Parchin site, south of Tehran, despite "intensive efforts".

The inspectors had sought to clarify the "possible military dimensions" of Iran's nuclear programme.

Iran says its programme is for peaceful purposes, but the West suspects it is geared towards making weapons.

The IAEA says its team is returning from Iran without a deal after two days of talks. The first round of discussions in January also failed to produce a result.

"It is disappointing that Iran did not accept our request to visit Parchin," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in a statement.

It is suspected that Parchin was the site where explosives related to nuclear weapons may have been tested in recent years.

Tehran has made no public comments of the latest remarks by the Vienna-based IAEA.

The BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna says the refusal to grant access to Parchin does not come as a major surprise, as there has been so little progress in the negotiations between Iran and the IAEA.

Source: BBC News