Iran to allow UN inspectors access to Marivan nuclear site

Iran decided to allow UN nuclear inspectors access to its Marivan nuclear site, Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) said Saturday.

"We are ready to provide a controlled access to the Marivan site to prove the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear activity," said AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, Xinhua reported, citing the official IRNA news agency.

The Marivan nuclear site, close to the Iraqi border, is suspected of being used to develop explosive weapons, and was referred to by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a 2011 report on Iran's alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Kamalvandi however, said that the report was based on "false information".

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) -- the US, Britain, France, China, Russia -- and Germany are engaged in negotiations to reach a nuclear deal in the Austrian capital Vienna.

The negotiators are looking for a long-term solution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, aiming to strike a comprehensive deal by the Nov 24 deadline.

Besides Marivan, the IAEA also suspects that Iran's Parchin military base could be used for nuclear tests, but Iran has so far denied access to Parchin.

Western states want Iran to significantly curtail its nuclear programme, while Iran has continued to insist that it has an inalienable right to develop its civilian atomic programme.

A comprehensive deal would ensure that Tehran's atomic plan is exclusively peaceful, while in return, Western states would phase out relevant sanctions which have severely hurt the Gulf nation's oil-dependent economy.