A senior Iranian dignitary has expressed hope that the new IAEA chief would 'have the courage' to visit Israel's nuclear facilities.

"At the time Mohamed ElBaradei was the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Israel did not allow him to visit its nuclear installations, however we hope the new secretary general would have the courage to visit Israel's atomic facilities," the head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Friday.

In a meeting with members of Japan's Council for Friendly Relations, Alaeddin Boroujerdi congratulated the appointment of Yukiya Amano, Japan's representative in IAEA, as the new director general of the UN body.

The Iranian official also noted that Tehran expected Japan to disapprove the existence of hundreds of nuclear bombs across the world, while keeping a watchful eye on the fast growth of the new generation of atomic bombs, IRNA reported.

Boroujerdi expressed hope that the new IAEA director general 'could play a more effective role in nuclear disarmament' while urging a fair stance towards Tehran's nuclear program, free from political agenda that has previously driven the case.

Iran says its nuclear program is directed at civilian applications of the technology including supplying fuel for under-construction power plants in the country.

The West, however, accuses the country of having plans to develop a nuclear weapons capacity.

RZS/MMA