The UN's chief nuclear inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday renewed his demand that Iran to address international concerns on its nuclear program to quell the fears of the UN agency, adding that doubts would remain so long as Teheran provided anything less than full cooperation.

ElBaradei's call came as IAEA board member nations gathered to decide whether to approve the suspension of dozens of technical aid programs to Iran as part of UN Security Council sanctions.

The 35-nation board meeting will revolve around Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment activities and linked problems.

ElBaradei told reporters that Iran had seemingly at least temporarily ceased developing its enrichment program as the Security Council discussed sharpening existing sanctions imposed after Teheran's persistent refusal to freeze enrichment activities.

"I do not believe that the number of centrifuges has increased, nor do I believe that nuclear material has been introduced to the centrifuges at Natanz," he said, referring to the machines used to enrich uranium.

Despite these claims, ElBaradei, whose agency has engaged in investigating Iran's nuclear activities for over four years, maintained that the IAEA remains "unable to provide the required assurance about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program."

(China Daily via Agencies March 6, 2007)