IAEA report to point to military work

An IAEA report on Iran's nuclear programme next week is expected to include evidence of research and other activities, which make little sense if not weapons-related, Western diplomats said on Friday, Reuters reports.

They said the keenly-awaited document by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will strengthen suspicions that Tehran is seeking to develop the capability to make atomic bombs, but stop short of explicitly saying that it is doing so.

Diplomats and experts said the Vienna-based U.N. agency would, in a technical annex to its next quarterly report on Iran, give plenty of new details and also add to areas of concern it has briefly mentioned previously.

Western powers believe Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons, but Tehran denies this, saying it is enriching uranium only to power reactors for electricity generation.