TEHRAN, Aug 9: Pakistan's foreign minister on Monday insisted his country was cooperating with a UN probe into Iran's suspect nuclear programme, but ruled out allowing inspectors into Pakistan as part of the crucial investigation.

"Pakistan is a responsible member of the international community. We have been cooperating with the IAEA and sharing information," said Mr Kasuri, who is on a two-day visit to Tehran.

"Of course we will cooperate and are cooperating," he told a press conference. "But as far as inspections of Pakistan are concerned, that is out of the question. We are not a signatory of the NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty)."

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have found traces of highly-enriched uranium inside Iran, leading to suspicions Iran has been trying to produce nuclear bombs and not just atomic energy as it insists.

But Tehran maintains the traces found their way into the country on equipment bought on an international black market operated by Pakistan's former nuclear chief, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan.

Pakistan's cooperation with the probe is crucial in resolving one of the main outstanding questions related to Iran's bid to generate nuclear energy, seen by the United States as a cover for weapons development.

The IAEA wants to take so-called "environmental samples" from Pakistan to compare them with those found in Iran - crucial in verifying Tehran's claims. Mr Kasuri refused to elaborate on how Pakistan would help the IAEA in this regard, preferring only to launch into a fresh run-down on how important to his country's national security the nuclear deterrent was.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, meanwhile, said he was confident the IAEA's board of governors would not refer Iran to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, a step the United States says is now more likely.

"America says that Iran's dossier should be referred to the Security Council. But for that to happen, there has to be violations - whereas Iran has not committed any violations," he asserted.

Enrichment and the nuclear fuel cycle that surrounds it is the centre of contention between Iran and the international community. The European Union's "big three" - Britain, France and Germany - have been pressing Iran to cease working on the nuclear fuel cycle in exchange for increased trade and cooperation and the guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel from abroad.

Such work is permitted under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but the concern is that once fully mastered, a country possessing such technology can easily divert it into military usage.

Many diplomats believe that even if Iran may not be working on nuclear weapons now, it would like to have the option in the future. Iran denies charges it is seeking to develop a nuclear bomb.

Iran has agreed to temporarily suspend enrichment pending the completion of the IAEA probe, but is working on other parts of the fuel cycle and has recently resumed making centrifuges used for enrichment. The next IAEA meeting is in September. -AFP