Damascus  - Syria on Monday drew parallels between the United States' current approach to the issue of its alleged nuclear activities, and Washington's having accused Baghdad of possessing weapons of mass destruction prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Comments published by state-owned newspaper al-Thawra, the de facto mouthpiece of the Syrian government, accused the US of pursuing a strategy of escalating tension in the Middle East and downplaying Syrian peace efforts,

The statements follow Saturday's accusation by Damascus that Washington was working to discourage Syrian efforts to secure a seat on the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the apparent ruling out of further IAEA inspections on Syrian territory.

Inspectors from the IAEA in June were granted access to the site of Syria's alleged nuclear complex at al-Kibar, which was bombed by Israeli air force jets last summer.

The US has accused Damascus of attempting to build a reactor at al-Khibar with North Korean assistance.

Syrian authorities deny these accusations, insisting that Syria is abiding by the non-proliferation treaty and has a good record with the IAEA.

Syria and the IAEA signed a memorandum of understating entitling the IAEA to a single visit to the al-Kibar complex. After the visit, which took place in June, the Syrian side assured the IAEA that it would answer any future inquiries. (dpa)