TEHRAN: Iran has charged that Washington provided forged intelligence to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) claiming that Tehran studied how to make atomic bomb, as world powers pressured it to resume talks on its nuclear drive.

"The US has not given authentic documents to the IAEA because it does not have any credible documents and all those documents are forged," Iran's envoy to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh said in a letter to the agency's chief Mohamed ElBaradei, according to Iranian state news agency Irna.

World powers, led by the US, suspect Tehran's atomic drive is aimed at making nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge.

The US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany have given a late September deadline for Iran to start talks or face fresh sanctions, while Tehran has said it will offer its own package of proposals this week.

Iran insists its nuclear plans must be dealt with by IAEA and not by the UN.

Meanwhile, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, who was a spokesman for ex-president Mohammad Khatami's government, said he is under pressure from authorities to make confessions against his will. He has been detained since the elections.

"I was detained only to settle political scores," he said, adding he and his teenage son were beaten and his head and ribs were "broken."