Mohamed ElBaradei told the UN General Assembly that Iran's failure to heed demands for a halt to its uranium enrichment and adopt transparency measures on its nuclear programme meant that the agency "continues to be unable to confirm the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme, which is a matter of serious concern".

He however expressed hope that Iran and its European and other partners would ultimately be able to begin talks "to achieve a comprehensive settlement that would ...supplement IAEA verification efforts in addressing international concerns about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme, while on the other hand addressing Iran's security and other concerns."

ElBaradei was briefing the 192-member Assembly on the activities of his Vienna-based agency this year.

Iran vehemently rejects Western allegations that its nuclear programme is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, saying the drive is solely aimed at generating electricity.