Iran has said it will sign an agreement within the next few days that will allow snap inspections of its nuclear facilities.
The news was given to journalists in Tehran by the Iranian Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharrazi. His government gave the go-ahead earlier this week for the country to sign a protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty permitting the inspections.
Iran, OPEC's second biggest oil producer, insists its nuclear programme is peaceful and is needed to meet booming domestic electricity demand and free up its finite hydrocarbon resources for export.
Iran has been under international pressure to sign the document to dispel concerns that it might be developing nuclear weapons.
