( CNN ) -- The head of a U.N. nuclear watchdog group said Friday a deal with Iran over its nuclear program is likely in January , an agreement that will also allow inspectors to gain access to a military complex where Tehran is believed to be testing nuclear materials . The news followed reports that the International Atomic Energy Agency wrapped one-day talks in Iran over its nuclear program , widely suspected by the United States and other Western nations as a front for the country 's development of nuclear weapons -- a charge Iran has repeatedly denied . `` We have agreed to meet again on 16 January next year , where we expect to finalize the structured approach and start implementing it then shortly after that , '' IAEA chief inspector Herman Nackaerts told reporters after returning to Vienna , Austria . Read more : CNN Fact Check : Iran and the Bomb . The talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) were aimed at jump-starting negotiations , while allowing agency inspectors to gain access to a military complex where Tehran is suspected of testing nuclear materials . Access to the Parchin military complex , just outside Tehran , is a key element in the negotiations . `` We have not been given access to Parchin this time . But as you know access to Parchin is part of the structured approach , and we hope as I said that we will implement that shortly , '' Nackaerts said . Read more : U.N. watchdog : Iran makes significant nuclear steps . Iran 's liaison to IAEA , Ali Asghar Soltanieh , characterized the talks as constructive , according to state-run news agency IRNA . The report stopped short of saying whether the talks included discussion about investigators getting access to Parchin , which was requested at a meeting in November in Vienna , Austria . The next round of talks were scheduled for January 16 , Soltanieh told IRNA . The IAEA also confirmed the talks would continue on that day . The United States , meanwhile , slapped new sanctions on Iran on Thursday , targeting a handful of companies and individuals it says are providing materials and technology to Tehran 's nuclear program . The sanctions , announced by the U.S. State and Treasury departments , are the latest to target Iran 's economy as well as its ability to develop nuclear material . Read more : U.N. nuclear agency expresses 'serious concern ' about Iran nuke activity . The sanctions were essential `` given Iran 's continued intransigence on its nuclear program , '' said Victoria Nuland , the U.S. State Department spokeswoman . Among the targets of the latest sanctions is Prof. Fereydoun Abbasi Davani , the head of the Iran Atomic Energy Organization . Abbasi Davani and his wife survived a car bomb two years ago that Tehran has blamed on Israel . At least four scientists associated with Iran 's nuclear program have been killed since 2010 . The companies being targeted with sanctions : FaraTech , the Neda Industrial Group , Aria Nikan Marine Industry , Towled Abzar Boreshi , Iran Pouya , Terjerat Gostar and Tarh O Palayesh . Read more : Inspection at Iran nuclear facility finds higher-level traces of uranium , U.N. says . The sanctions freeze the companies ' assets and prohibit business dealings in or with the United States . Companies and banks that defy the U.S. sanctions could be cut off from the U.S. financial system , the State and Treasury departments said . Iran maintains its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes only . But the IAEA has said it can not verify whether the intent of the program is for peaceful means . A number of Western nations have placed economic and arms-related sanctions on Iran since November 2010 when the IAEA said Tehran was pursuing technology that could be used to build nuclear weapons . Since then , Iran has been hit by the United States and the European Union with an oil embargo as well as sanctions targeting its banks and number of its businesses . CNN 's Saskya Vandoorne reported from London and Chelsea J. Carter from Atlanta .
NEW : IAEA and Iran close to an agreement , nuclear watchdog chief says . Iran calls the talks `` constructive '' but does not address access to Parchin . Prof. Fereydoun Abbasi Davani is among those being slapped with sanctions . Score: 6