Western countries will seek to turn the screw further on Iran at a meeting of U.N. atomic agency board of governors from Monday following the watchdog's latest damning report on Tehran's nuclear programme.

With EU foreign ministers talking Saturday in Cyprus about more sanctions, Britain, France and Germany were leading the charge for a clear signal from the International Atomic Energy Agency gathering, diplomats said.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Sunday that a nuclear-armed Iran was "not an option", as he called on Tehran for "substantial negotiations" over its controversial atomic program.

"We share the Israeli concerns about Iran's nuclear program," Westerwelle said at the beginning of a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem.

Iranian authorities on Sunday advanced different arguments as to why they believed Canada abruptly cut diplomatic ties, pointing the finger at Israeli influence or Tehran's hosting of a recent summit rather than Ottawa's stated reasons.

"Canada's action is in line with the interests of the Zionist regime (Israel) as it seeks to boost of its relations with the (Israeli) regime," Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told a closed-door session of parliament, according to the Mehr news agency.

President Michel Suleiman met with Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi and Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran last week, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday.

The daily said that the Syrian officials gave explanations to Suleiman on the case of former Minister Michel Samaha who was arrested last month on charges of plotting to carry out bombings in Lebanon with Syrian help.

The Vice Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral James Winnefeld, held talks with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday, the ministry said, as tensions rise over Iran's nuclear program.

A statement from the ministry containing pictures and a video of the two said that Winnefeld met Barak in his Tel Aviv office, without providing details on the meeting.

The Vice Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral James Winnefeld, is on a secret visit to Israel as tensions rise over Iran's nuclear progress, Israel's army radio reported on Thursday.

The Israeli military itself refused to confirm the report, which said Winnefeld was in the country at the invitation of his counterpart, Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Yair Naveh.

Hizbullah is using a training base established by Iran in northern Nicaragua near the border with Honduras, the Israeli radio reported on Thursday.

“The area is cordoned off and there are around 30 members of Hizbullah being trained in the camp,” the radio quoted intelligence sources as saying.

The United States on Wednesday urged Iraq to ensure that Iranian planes flying over its territory land and face cargo inspections, amid concerns Tehran is shipping arms to the Syrian regime.

"We expect Iraq as a member of good standing in the international community, as a strategic partner of the United States, to meet its international obligations," acting State Department deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell said.

Three U.S. senators voiced concerns to Iraq's prime minister that Iran has resumed using Baghdad's airspace to fly weapons and equipment to bolster Bashar Assad's regime in Syria, they said on Wednesday.

Iran is the "only power" that can secure the oil-rich Gulf, a Revolutionary Guards commander said on Tuesday, adding that the reinforced U.S. navy presence in the waterway was causing regional instability.

"The only power which can provide for the security in the region is the Islamic Republic of Iran and the world is slowly grasping this issue," said Admiral Ali Fadavi, the Guards' top naval chief, quoted by the website of the Bushehr provincial governor's office (ostb.ir).