"We have had good negotiations with (IAEA chief) Mohamed ElBaradei and I believe it is possible that, before September, we will have positive results on this matter," Gholamreza Aghazadeh said after a cabinet meeting here.

"I think we will assuage international fears and in return, we expect (the international community) to stand by its commitments," he added.

He said discussions with IAEA experts had eased "some of Iran's uncertainties," on the implementation of the protocol, particularly with regard to military secrets and strategy.

The Islamic republic is under strong international pressure to prove it is not secretly developing atomic weapons by signing the additional protocol, which would allow UN inspectors to descend on suspect sites without warning.

The Iranian nuclear case will be reviewed by the IAEA's board of governors on September 8, with the threat that the case might be forwarded to the UN Security Council.

IAEA inspectors arrived in Iran on Monday to carry out final checks before September 8.

Aghazadeh said the inspectors finished their work on Tuesday.

"They took all the samples and visited all the sites which they wanted ... I think that there are no more uncertainties that we did not sort out."

The latest mission was preceded by a visit from IAEA legal experts to clarify to the Iranians what the signing of the additional protocol would imply.

"Significant" uncertainties were dealt with during that visit, Aghazadeh said, adding that "the discussions must continue because significant things remain to be discussed."

Hence, another meeting should take place "in the near future," he said.

Some Iranian conservatives are opposed to the signature of the NPT's additional protocol and even call for Iran renouncing the treaty.

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