IAEA chief to visit Iran for nuclear talks Sunday

Visit precedes an expected new round of talks between Tehran and six world powers to strike a deal on curbing Iran's nuclear plans

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, will visit Iran on Sunday to try to advance cooperation over its contested nuclear drive, the organisation said.

Amano, who last went to Tehran in November, is due to hold talks with Iranian leaders and senior officials, the IAEA said.

"The visit is part of the efforts to advance dialogue and cooperation between the agency and Iran," it said.

It comes ahead of an expected new round of talks between Tehran and six world powers aimed at striking a deal on curbing Iran's nuclear programme.

A spokesman for lead negotiator Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, had said earlier this month that the negotiations would take place before the UN General Assembly, which starts on September 16.

After several months of talks, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany decided last month to extend their self-imposed deadline of July 20 to strike an agreement until November 24.

Such an accord is aimed at easing fears once and for all that the Islamic republic might use its civilian nuclear programme to build an atomic bomb, something Tehran has always denied.