The UN nuclear watchdog said Wednesday there had been "no progress" in talks with Tehran on disputes over the monitoring of Iran's atomic programme, just days before talks restart on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told a quarterly meeting of the agency's board that talks he held in Tehran on Tuesday were "inconclusive" despite being "constructive".

Grossi had sought to tackle constraints put on IAEA inspections earlier this year, outstanding questions over the presence of undeclared nuclear material at sites in Iran, and the treatment of IAEA staff in the country.

"In terms of the substance... we were not able to make progress," Grossi told reporters, saying that the lack of agreement had come "in spite of my best efforts".

Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told Iranian television his team "tried until the last moment" but there is still work to be done.

Among other officials in Tehran, Grossi met Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Amir-Abdollahian put a positive gloss on the talks, telling the official Irna agency on Wednesday that a "common declaration" had been reached which would be published "as soon as possible".

-'Foot-dragging'-

Grossi's visit came ahead of the scheduled resumption on Monday of negotiations between Tehran and world powers aimed at reviving the 2015 deal that gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

The United States said it was "disappointed" by the outcome of Grossi's visit and said it was ready to negotiate in Vienna.

"But of course Iran's failure to cooperate is a bad sign about their seriousness in a successful conclusion to our negotiations," a State Department spokesperson said.

The remaining members of the accord -- France, Germany, the UK, China, Russia and Iran -- will attend with the US taking part indirectly.

The deal has been gradually disintegrating since former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018.

The following year Iran retaliated by starting to move away from its commitments under the deal, also known as the JCPOA.

The US negotiator for the JCPOA talks Rob Malley warned that Washington would not "sit idly" if Iran delayed progress at the talks.

"If (Iran) continues to do what it appears to be doing now, which is to drag its feet at the nuclear diplomatic table and accelerate its pace when it comes to its nuclear program... we'll have to respond accordingly," Malley told US broadcaster NPR.

At the IAEA Board of Governors' meeting, the EU issued a joint statement saying it was "deeply concerned at the inconclusive outcome of the discussions" with Grossi.

Russia's representative meanwhile said it supported Grossi's "intent to continue working with the Iranian side and call for Tehran to do the same".

-'Excessively invasive'-

One of the steps away from the deal came earlier this year when Iran began restricting some IAEA inspections activity.

Iran and the agency currently have a temporary agreement that gives the IAEA access to monitoring equipment at Iran's nuclear facilities.

However, the Agency has warned that the agreement is not a durable solution and Grossi said he was "close to... the point where I would not be able to guarantee continuity of knowledge" of Iran's nuclear programme if it continued.

Grossi also said he had raised concerns while in Tehran about security checks on IAEA inspectors which the agency has described as "excessively invasive".

He noted that the IAEA and Iran had a legal agreement "which is intended to protect inspectors from intimidation, from seizure of their property".

"Our Iranian colleagues have instituted a number of measures which are simply incompatible" with this, he said.

US will not 'sit idly' if Iran drags out nuclear talks: envoy
Washington (AFP) Nov 24, 2021 - The United States will not "sit idly" on Iran if it drags its feet on returning to a nuclear accord in talks resuming next week, the US special envoy said.

"If they start getting too close, too close for comfort, then of course we will not be prepared to sit idly," US negotiator Rob Malley told National Public Radio in excerpts released Tuesday.

Iran will return to talks in Vienna with world powers on Monday after a five-month gap following the election of an ultra-conservative president, Ebrahim Raisi.

The negotiations come after the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, back from a visit to Iran, said there had been no progress in talks on disputes over the country's program.

President Joe Biden's administration opened the talks earlier this year in hopes of returning the United States to a 2015 nuclear accord trashed by predecessor Donald Trump, but has failed to reach an understanding with Iran.

"We're prepared to get back into the deal and to lift all of the sanctions that are inconsistent with the deal. So if Iran wants to get back into the deal, it has a way to do that," Malley said.

"If it doesn't want to get back into the deal, if it continues to do what it appears to be doing now, which is to drag its feet at the nuclear diplomatic table and accelerate its pace when it comes to its nuclear program, if that's the path it chooses, we'll have to respond accordingly."

The negotiations are being held indirectly, with an EU envoy shuttling between Malley and the Iranian delegation, which refuses to meet the US representative face-to-face.

Iran has demanded a lifting of all sanctions, but the Biden administration says it is only discussing measures imposed by Trump as part of the withdrawal from the nuclear deal, including a sweeping unilateral US ban on all other nations buying Iran's key export of oil.

Israel, which fiercely opposed the 2015 deal negotiated by president Barack Obama, has waged a sabotage campaign against Iran and threatened military action.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken of "other options," although Malley in the interview made it clear the United States was thinking foremost of economic pressure.

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US will not 'sit idly' if Iran drags out nuclear talks: envoy
Washington (AFP) Nov 24, 2021
The United States will not "sit idly" on Iran if it drags its feet on returning to a nuclear accord in talks resuming next week, the US special envoy said. "If they start getting too close, too close for comfort, then of course we will not be prepared to sit idly," US negotiator Rob Malley told National Public Radio in excerpts released Tuesday. Iran will return to talks in Vienna with world powers on Monday after a five-month gap following the election of an ultra-conservative president, Ebrahi ... read more