Iran's top nuclear official was to meet Russian ministers yesterday amid reports that Moscow was planning to add its voice to strong international pressure for the Islamic state to allay fears it was secretly building an atomic bomb.

"Russia is an important country in the international arena and a neighbor and friend of the Islamic republic," said Hassan Rowhani, who as secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council handles the country's nuclear affairs.

"On the nuclear issue, we are discussing with the Russians ways we could cooperate in the next IAEA meeting and international issues regarding the nuclear activities," he told Iranian reporters in Moscow in comments broadcast in Tehran.