The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog has warned that Iran is one of several countries on the path to possessing the ingredients for making a nuclear weapon, according to a German newspaper report Friday.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said there was a list of countries that have both the fissile material and the technical means to assemble an atomic weapon within a few months, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily.

"Iran is also on this path," ElBaradei was quoted as saying.

He said Iran's desire to possess a nuclear weapon was a product of "an underlying feeling of insecurity and the desire to be recognized as a regional power," according to the paper.
"We live in a world in which atomic weapons promise power and prestige," ElBaradei reportedly said.

The German daily quoted him as saying that the Islamic Republic was definitely on its way to "virtual" nuclear weapon status, however he said that the country could not "break out" to a bomb whilst IAEA monitors continue to supervise its nuclear sites.