The French Defense Minister, Herve Morin, when visiting the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, said he possesses information that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

He dismissed comments by the head of the UN atomic watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that there was no evidence Iran is building nuclear weapons, saying Paris has evidence to the contrary.

IAEA head, Mohamed ElBaradei, who has repeatedly defended the accord in the face of U.S. criticism, said on Sunday there was still no evidence to back the U.S. claims Tehran was seeking a nuclear bomb.

"Our information, matching those of other countries, gives us the opposite feeling," Morin told a news conference in Abu Dhabi, Lenta.ru reports.