DUBAI (AFP) – Persian Gulf states plan to hold talks with the UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency over their plans for a regional nuclear program, a Persian Gulf official said in remarks.

"There are preparations underway for meetings in the coming weeks with officials from the IAEA about the PGCC nuclear program," Persian Gulf Cooperation Council secretary general Abderrahman Al-Attiya told UAE newspaper Al-Khaleej.

At a summit in Riyadh last month, leaders of the oil-rich Arab monarchies in the Persian Gulf outlined plans for a joint program for the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The PGCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, all neighbors of Iran.

But the Gulf states have denied their desire for nuclear development is a result of Iran's own atomic programme, which the West fears could be a cover for plans to build the nuclear bomb.