They said the incident occurred Sunday. ElBaradei's wife, who was traveling with him, was also stopped and searched, as officials apparently screen people according to their names.

One diplomat, contacted in Washington from Vienna, said ElBaradei was "really angry and embarrassed by the incident." IAEA officials refused to comment on the report.

ElBaradei spoke last week at the UN General Assembly and then was in Boston where he spoke at both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He was traveling to Washington where he will be attending a conference on non-proliferation and is to meet US officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

ElBaradei and his UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agencywere on October 7 declared the winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

The United States, which has severely criticized ElBaradei in the past, welcomed the honor without mentioning past disagreements over Iraq's suspected arsenal or initial US resistance to a third term for ElBaradei as IAEA chief.

"I congratulate the International Atomic Energy Agency and its director general, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, on being awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize," Rice said on October 7.

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