"The samples collected by the IAEA in Natanz were conform with the information Iran had offered the Agency", Mr. Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s ambassador at the Vienna-based United Nations nuclear watchdog told the hard line evening daily "Keyhan" on Monday.

He was referring to objects containing radioactive traces that international experts had collected near the Natanz uranium enriching plant that Iran has built secretly.

Mr. Salehi repeated Iran’s earlier explanations that the equipments used for enriching uranium were contaminated when Iran bought them and that the radioactivity found on them were not produced in Iran.

However, he confirmed that Iran has started enriching uranium on "experimental bass’ since some six weeks ago, using 164 centrifuges, which, he added, are not enough to produce weapon-grade and quantity uranium, a material necessary for building atomic bomb.

According to the diplomat, all Iranian nuclear installations, including those of Natanz are under 24 hours surveillance of cameras and monitored and inspected regularly by international experts.

In a resolution adopted on 12 September, the 35-member Board of IAEA’s Directors gave Tehran until last of October to stop all its uranium enriching activities and sign "immediately and unconditionally" the additional Protocol to the Non Proliferation Treaty.

In his interview with Keyhan, Mr. Salehi, who had walked out of the meeting when the Resolution was adopted, reiterated that the decision was taken under pressures from the United States and described it as being "politically motivated".

In an interview on the same day but with the State-run, leader-controlled Iranian Television, Mr. Salehi said in response to the Agency’s "unfair" and "political" decision, Iran would limit its collaboration with the IAEA to the "minimum required".