UN's nuclear watchdog head says apparent work to dismantle suspected Iran test site ongoing

BAGHDAD – The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog says apparent efforts by Iran to dismantle a suspected nuclear site are continuing ahead of a visit by agency officials next month.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has raised concerns about what appears to be months of work to scrub the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran of possible traces of nuclear weapons-related work. It believes Iran may have run experiments at the site on triggering a nuclear explosion.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said during a visit to neighboring Iraq on Sunday that activities to dismantle Parchin are ongoing, though he declined to give details.

Iran denies it is pursuing atomic weapons, a charge leveled by the West. It says its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes.