Iran said the controversial Parchin military site is not included in an agreement it struck on Sunday with the UN atomic watchdog.

"Visiting Parchin is not included in the seven steps," said Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi.

His remarks, reported by the ISNA news agency, came after two days of talks in Tehran with experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), building on a roadmap deal agreed in November.

The new deal requires Tehran to implement seven steps by May 15, including visits to a uranium mine and yellowcake factory in central Iran.

The IAEA suspects explosive tests took place in Parchin, a military site near Tehran, that are "strong indicators of possible nuclear weapon development".

It has asked in vain for years to visit the facility, pointing to new information it has uncovered since its last visits to the site in 2005.

Six world powers negotiating with Iran on its current nuclear activities also called on Tehran in March 2012 to allow IAEA inspectors to visit the site.

Iran says it has no obligation to do so, as Parchin is a designated military site.

Skeptical of Iran, US senator revives sanctions push
Washington (AFP) Feb 07, 2014 - An influential US senator sought Thursday to revive a push for sanctions to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, arguing that calling for new penalties is not war-mongering as suggested by the White House.

Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat, went on the offensive in a marathon floor speech outlining his distrust of the Iranian regime, saying he was "deeply skeptical" of Tehran's intention to adhere to an interim agreement with world powers over its nuclear program.

Menendez, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is lead sponsor of a bill that would trigger sanctions if Iran walks away from the interim deal, which eases existing economic penalties in return for Tehran freezing its nuclear program.

"In my view, Iran's strategy, consistent with their past approaches that have brought them to a nuclear threshold state, is to use these negotiations to mothball its nuclear infrastructure program just long enough to undo the international sanctions regime," Menendez said.

Iran insists its nuclear drive is purely peaceful, but Menendez warned that it has refused to destroy any of its centrifuges, and was "weeks to months away from breakout" uranium enrichment capacity to produce a bomb should it ever resume the program.

"Let everyone understand: if there is no deal we won't have time to impose new sanctions before Iran could produce a nuclear weapon."

Menendez's legislation has support from 59 senators in the 100-member chamber.

But Obama has threatened a veto and several Democrats who favor the bill have since stepped back from a possible damaging vote against their own leader.

And Iranian officials have warned that new sanctions legislation could kill the negotiations.

Earlier in the day, 42 Republicans wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who controls the chamber's schedule, pressing for a vote.

But Menendez distanced himself from that tactic, saying "we cannot be pressured by a partisan letter into forcing a vote."

Menendez won plaudits from pro-Israel lobby AIPAC for his approach.

The New Jersey senator stood firm in refuting the White House argument that passage of his bill would amount to sabre rattling.

"It is a false choice to say a vote for sanctions is equivalent to war-mongering," Menendez said.