US President Barack Obama is calling on UN nuclear inspectors to release data showing Iran is designing nuclear weapons technology in a bid to further isolate Tehran, a report said Sunday. The White House push for the release of International Atomic Energy Agency data comes after the United States accused Iran of sponsoring a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington, the New York Times reported.
Citing unnamed senior administration officials, the newspaper said the nuclear data did not "definitively point to the construction of a weapon" but would force the Iranians to provide answers about their nuclear program.
The United States and its allies including Israel have long accused the Islamic republic of developing nuclear weapons, but Iran insists its atomic programme is a peaceful one designed to fulfil the country's energy needs.
Tehran also has denied any involvement in the plot to kill the Saudi envoy.
The IAEA is planning to release details next month on what it suspects may be covert Iranian efforts to develop nuclear weapons, diplomats said in Vienna last week.
But the watchdog's chief, Yukiya Amano, is apparently concerned that Iran will throw UN inspectors out of the country if too much sensitive data is released, the Times reported.