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New satellite photographs published by a Washington think tank appear to show intensified efforts by Iran over the past week to cleanse a military site south of Tehran suspected of being used for nuclear-weapons research.

The Iranian actions could affect a tentative deal reached last week between Tehran and the United Nations' nuclear watchdog that was aimed at granting inspectors expansive access to facilities, scientists and documents allegedly related to nuclear-weapons work.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has specifically been pressing Iran to allow inspectors to visit the military site, known as Parchin, which the agency believes may have been involved in the testing of high explosives used to simulate a nuclear detonation.

In recent days, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, appeared to back out of any commitments to allow the IAEA into Parchin.

"The reasons and document have still not been presented by the agency to convince us to give permission for this visit," he told Iranian state media on Saturday.