Iran under renewed pressure to allow nuke search

EXPERTS from the UN nuclear watchdog began talks aimed at getting Iran to permit unrestricted inspections of its nuclear facilities even as a published report said that Iran was moving towards developing a nuclear weapons capability.

The three-member legal team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met yesterday with Iranian government lawyers, said Saber Zaeimian, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran.

The US has accused Iran of running a clandestine nuclear weapons programme and wants the IAEA to declare Tehran in violation of the non-proliferation treaty. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful, electrical power purposes.