IAEA making 'progress' in verification work in Iran: ElBaradei

Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the agency's job was to make sure that assurances from Iranian leaders are "reflected on the ground".

"We are still in the verification process in Iran. We are making good progress there; we have not seen materials diverted towards nuclear weapons,"

he told an audience of some 200 at the UN University in Tokyo.

"However, we have not yet completed our job to be able to say that no undeclared activities exist in Iran," he said after delivering a speech on nuclear non-proliferation.

The IAEA board passed a resolution on September 18 calling on Iran to immediately widen a suspension of enrichment to include all uranium enrichment-related activities -- such as making centrifuges, converting yellowcake into UF6 feed gas and constructing a heavy water reactor.

Iran, facing a November 25 deadline, risks being referred to the UN Security Council if it fails to comply.

Iranian officials said Wednesday they would not bow to the demand for total suspension and were ready for confrontation.

The IAEA chief in the speech urged an eventual total ban on nuclear weapons which should one day be "perceived like genocide".