A team from the UN nuclear watchdog inspected Iran's newly disclosed uranium enrichment site on Sunday, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. "The inspectors who arrived in Iran on Sunday visited the facility in central Iran. They are expected to visit the site again," Mehr said, without giving a source.

The inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Iran early on Sunday to examine a nuclear site that has heightened Western fears of a covert programme to develop atomic bombs, an accusation the Islamic Republic rejects. Iran revealed the existence of its second enrichment plant, under construction 160km south of Tehran, in September, fanning Western suspicions over its nuclear ambitions.

Iran, which says it wants only peaceful nuclear energy, agreed to open the new site to monitoring at talks with six world powers - the United States, Germany, France, Russia, China and Britain - held in Geneva on October 1.

But, a second understanding struck in the Swiss city stumbled on Friday when Iran cast doubt on a plan to send abroad much of its enriched uranium reserve for processing into special fuel for a reactor used to create radioactive isotopes for medical purposes.

World powers regard the two steps as litmus tests of Iran's stated intent to use enriched uranium only for civilian purposes, and as a basis for follow-up talks on curbing enrichment itself, which would bring Iran trade and technology rewards in return.

Influential Iranian lawmakers have criticised the UN-drafted nuclear fuel agreement, in comments echoed by an Iranian diplomat today. The West fears Iran wants to use its nuclear programme to build atomic weapons. Iran insists it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity. - Reuters