Tehran, Nov 20 (IANS): Iranian Foreign Ministry has urged the UN nuclear watchdog to avoid any "political behaviour" with regard to its technical mission.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a responsible member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has always emphasized that the IAEA, as a technical and specialized body of the UN, must be free from any political conduct," said Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry's website.

The remarks by the Iranian spokesman were in reaction to the recent comments by French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre, who said that the IAEA's governing board must send a "strong message" to Iran in next week's meeting, after the recent report of the agency highlighted that it has been unable to get access to an Iranian nuclear site, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Any stance by the officials and political institutions of different countries with the aim of influencing the IAEA behaviour is considered a damage to the technical and professional status of the IAEA," Khatibzadeh added.

"With no doubt, instrumental use of the capacities of the IAEA will call into question the international legitimacy of the IAEA's

actions," he said.