Looking relaxed and confident on his return from a UN summit in New York, Ahmadinejad said his offer to allow foreign participation in the Islamic republic's nuclear energy drive ought to be enough to dispel suspicions the regime is seeking the bomb.

"During these past two years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has made various proposals to prove its goodwill and this is the last time Iran submits a proposal whereby we allow the private sectors of other countries to participate in our activities," he told reporters.

"This is a kind of guarantee that is in fact general and international supervision," added Ahmadinejad, speaking the evening before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is due to discuss the deepening stand-off.

"We want the fuel cycle. It is the right of all countries, including Iran, and we want it under the framework of the regulations that apply to all nations," the president told reporters at Tehran airport.

Ahmadinejad said his visit to New York and speeches to the UN General Assembly had been a victory in the face of what he described as a "psychological war".

"One month ago they started this psychological war and created a psychological atmosphere, that this or that would happen... there were even threats... but as you saw the atmosphere was strongly in favour of Iranian people and the words of Iranian people were welcomed," he said.

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