The UN nuclear watchdog calls for Iran to be given the documents that provided the basis for nuclear allegations against the country.

In a Thursday statement, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) criticized the lack of cooperation of member states with Iran over the "alleged studies" of weaponization case they have brought against the country.

"I also still regret the fact that the agency has not been able to share with Iran documentation provided by member states. I call upon the member states concerned to authorize the agency to do so," IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei told the Board of Governors in Vienna.

The agency also called on Iran to increase its cooperation with the agency in a bid to resolve all 'outstanding issues' pertaining to its nuclear program and to implement the Additional Protocol.

The Additional Protocol requires member states to provide an expanded declaration of their nuclear activities and grants the agency broader rights of access to sites in the country.

Iran, meanwhile, says a broader access would expose sensitive information related to its conventional military and missile related activities, insisting that any government would be reluctant to accept such a protocol due to national security concerns.

ElBaradei also sought to reassure Tehran on the issue, promising that "the agency does not in any way seek to intrude into Iran's conventional or missile-related military activities."

The IAEA in its latest report affirmed that it has "been able to continue to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran" but added that unless Tehran increases its cooperation with the agency, the UN body "will not be able to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran."

According to the Vienna-based agency, Iran has managed to enrich uranium-235 to a level "less than 5 percent", a rate consistent with the development of a nuclear power plant. Nuclear arms production requires an enrichment level of above 90 percent.

The Bush administration and its allies have long accused Tehran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of seeking atomic weaponry. Iran insists that its enrichment is solely directed at the civilian applications of nuclear technology.

Washington has based much of its efforts to rally international support for sanctions against Tehran on documents which the IAEA refers to as "alleged studies". The documents are claimed to be proof of an Iranian research program directed at nuclear weapons development.

Most of the documents, provided by an unknown source to US intelligence agents, are electronic files allegedly gathered from an Iranian researcher's laptop - none of which bears "confidential" or "top secret" seals.

Iran says the documents have been based on "forged" data, claiming that an anti-Iran terrorist cell, the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), is responsible for misleading the agency with the "fabricated" evidence.

A senior MKO member, Mohammad Mohaddessin, confirmed the Iranian contention in a February interview with AP, saying that the organization had presented the IAEA with data supporting the anti-Iran charges.

Meanwhile, recent reports have suggested that new evidence has been presented to the IAEA secretariat, which has cast doubt on the authenticity of the documents.

DB/AA