Amano, who took over as head of the UN agency from Mohamed ElBaradei in November, said he was writing his first report on Iran's compliance with UN demands for an IAEA board meeting in March. But he refused to give details of the dialogue or whether Iran had improved co-operation. Under an IAEA plan, Iran would hand over most of its stocks of low-enriched uranium in return for Russian and French supplies of nuclear fuel enriched to the higher level required for a research reactor.
Diplomats say Iran has rejected the offer, heightening Western fears that Iran is trying to build its own nuclear bomb - a charge strongly denied by Tehran which insists its programme is peaceful. Amano's comments came one day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Western powers were moving toward tougher action against Iran.
"Iran has provided a continuous stream of threats to intensify its violation of international nuclear norms," Clinton said in London on Thursday. "Iran's approach leaves us with little choice than to work with our partners to apply greater pressure in the hopes that it will cause Iran to reconsider its rejection of diplomatic efforts," she added.
Clinton said she and the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Italy discussed possible new measures against Iran at the UN Security Council. Clinton also discussed the case during talks with the Chinese and Russian foreign ministers Yang Jiechi and Sergei Lavrov.
The US Senate voted Thursday to slap new sanctions on Iran, targeting its petrol imports. In his annual State of the Union address earlier this week, US President Barack Obama said that Iran's leaders would "face growing consequences" if they pursue nuclear weapons.