"Asghar C., who has a past of spying for foreigners, was seeking to make centrifuges with a fictitious contract and under the name of a false company," the intelligence ministry was quoted as saying in a statement..

By pretending to manufacture centrifuges, the machines that can enrich uranium to make both fuel for a civilian reactor or the explosive core of a nuclear device, "this individual was trying to damage Iran's international commitments."

The statement said the man "was arrested and handed over to the courts."

It said the United States has put into action a bizarre plan so it can "accuse Iran of not respecting international conventions and past accords and in this regard certain individuals are taking actions to facilitate these accusations."

Iran is a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and is obliged to report all of its nuclear activities to the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Agency (IAEA).

This week Iran escaped the threat of being referred by the IAEA to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions after it agreed to suspend its controversial work on the nuclear fuel cycle, including enrichment.

The United States accuses Iran of having violated the NPT and of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists it only wants to produce nuclear fuel to generate electricity, and says it has declared all of its nuclear activities to the IAEA.

The case is the latest announcement of action against nuclear spies.

Last month four Iranians accused of spying on nuclear facilities for foreign governments reportedly went on trial in Tehran.

In August, Intelligence Minister Ali Yunessi announced the arrest of a number of "spies" who allegedly sent information on Iran's nuclear programme to foreigners.

He said the People's Mujahedeen, an armed opposition group based in Iraq that the regime in Tehran labels as "hypocrites", had played the central role in the espionage.

The group's political wing, the National Council for Resistance in Iran, in 2002 revealed two key nuclear sites Iran had been hiding, including an uranium-enrichment plant in Natanz.

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