VIENNA, Nov 24: Iran has agreed to hand over records of its uranium enrichment work in a boost to UN efforts to determine whether Tehran seeks nuclear weapons, but diplomats and analysts said more cooperation is needed.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei told the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors on Thursday that Iran would finally provide the sought-after records.

Tehran had rebuffed previous IAEA demands for months, while pushing ahead with enrichment operations in defiance of a UN Security Council call for it to suspend the sensitive nuclear work.

Iran has also agreed to the IAEA's long-standing request to let its inspectors take more environmental sample swipes on equipment from a former military site at Lavizan, where enrichment work is suspected, Mr ElBaradei said. The Vienna-based IAEA is mired in an over three-year-old investigation into US charges that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons.

Diplomats said Iran, under the threat of UN sanctions over its nuclear program, was trying to parry charges that it has failed to cooperate fully with the IAEA inquest.

“Getting the operating records is a pretty big deal,” said a diplomat with technical training and who is close to the IAEA.—AFP