The UN atomic watchdog said Thursday that a visit proposed by Iran to the northwestern Marivan region would not be helpful to investigating allegations of large scale high explosive experiments.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has "explained clearly to Iran -- on more than one occasion -- that an offer of a visit of Marivan does not help address specific concerns related to the issue of large scale high explosive experiments," spokesman Serge Gas said.

The IAEA conducts regular, close inspections of Iran's nuclear programme.

But it has been pressing Iran for years to address allegations that prior to 2003, and possibly since, Tehran conducted research into developing nuclear weapons. The suspected activities in Marivan form part of that.

Iran has consistently rejected the claims, set out in a major IAEA report in 2011 based mostly on information it judges "broadly credible" provided by unnamed other countries, as baseless.

Iran says the information is based on intelligence reports from Israel and the United States, intelligence that it says it has not been able to examine itself, and some analysts are also sceptical.

Progress began to be made last year but the probe has since stalled, with Iran failing to provide information by an August 25, 2014 deadline on two out of around a dozen suspect areas.

Last month Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, made the offer of a visit to Marivan, and on Thursday he told reporters that this was "to show that the claims are baseless".

"It is up to those member states who have given the information to the agency to provide the details to the agency, to enable the agency to verify their claims," he said.

Separately, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany are seeking a landmark deal by June 30, 2015 but this concerns Iran's current and declared activities, most notably its uranium enrichment facilities.

But the US envoy to the IAEA, Laura Kennedy, said in September that the watchdog's allegations of the "possible military dimensions" to Iran's programme "must be addressed as part of any comprehensive" wider deal between Iran and world powers.

UN atomic watchdog seeks funds for Iran inspections
Vienna (AFP) Dec 11, 2014 - The head of the UN atomic watchdog went cap in hand to member states Thursday seeking 4.6 million euros ($5.7 million) to pay for additional inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities.

"I invite member states which are in a position to do so to make the necessary funding available as soon as possible, in order to ensure smooth continuation of our services," Yukiya Amano told an extraordinary meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) board of governors.

Amano said the Vienna-based watchdog's inspections workload had been "greatly increased", and that many staff "will give up their Christmas and New Year holidays this year", according to the text of his remarks.

Last month in Vienna, Iran and six world powers for the second time missed a deadline to strike an historic accord limiting the scope of Tehran's nuclear programme and easing fears that it might develop nuclear weapons.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany gave themselves until June 30, 2015 to seal the deal, which would see painful sanctions on Iran lifted.

During this time an interim accord concluded in November 2013 will remain in force, under which Iran ceased certain nuclear activities and submitted to beefed-up IAEA oversight in return for around $700 million in assets being unfrozen a month.

Certain countries have questioned the utility of some additional inspections, since the IAEA already kept close tabs on Iran's facilities before the 2013 deal, devoting more resources to its work on Iran than on any other country except Japan.

It remains unclear when and where the next round of talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 powers will take place, with some reports saying it may happen later this month, possibly in Oman.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tuesday that neither a date nor location have been determined, while Kazakhstan's foreign minister said in Washington that his country was willing to host the talks.