Iran on Tuesday spurned a request by the IAEA for access to a base where Tehran conducts nuclear research, saying the issue should be addressed in a wider agreement with the UN atomic agency.

Iran on Tuesday spurned a request by the IAEA for access to a base where Tehran conducts nuclear research, saying the issue should be addressed in a wider agreement with the UN atomic agency.

"Our cooperation with the (International Atomic Energy Agency) will continue in its already established framework of cooperation," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a press conference when asked about Parchin nuclear site near Tehran.

IAEA Chief Yukiya Amano on Monday asked Iran to provide access to Parchin "without further delay, whether or not agreement has been reached on the structured approach".

Mehmanparast said Tehran was seeking to reach "a comprehensive agreement ... which clearly recognizes our rights and also addresses their concerns.”

“Talks between Iran and the agency are moving in a positive direction," but "the steps should be taken by two parties," he added.

In parallel, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Monday that “the nuclear talks between Tehran and the P5+1 group of six major world powers are on the right track.”

“The important point is that the talks with the P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States plus Germany) are heading in the right direction,” Press TV quoted Salehi as saying.

Speaking before reporters in the Iraqi city of Najaf, the Iranian foreign minister pointed out that “the latest round of talks has yielded positive results,” urging both sides to take another step forward.