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The outcome seems likely to add to already soaring tensions between Iran and Western powers, which have ratcheted up sanctions on the major oil producer in recent months.
"During both the first and second round of discussions, the agency team requested access to the military site at Parchin. Iran did not grant permission for this visit to take place," the Vienna-based IAEA said in a statement after the talks.
The IAEA named Parchin in a detailed report in November that lent independent weight to Western fears that Iran was working to develop an atomic bomb, an allegation Iranian officials reject.
"It is disappointing that Iran did not accept our request to visit Parchin. We engaged in a constructive spirit, but no agreement was reached," said IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano.
Iran's state TV said the IAEA team arrived early today for a two-day visit. State radio said the inspectors hope to meet Iranian nuclear scientists and pay a visit to the Parchin military complex.
The radio said the IAEA requested to visit Parchin, an Iranian military base and conventional weapons development facility outside Tehran. The site has also been suspected of housing a secret underground facility used for Iran's nuclear programme, a claim denied by Iranian authorities.
IAEA inspectors visited the site in 2005, but only one of four areas of potential interest within the grounds. The nuclear watchdog did not report any unusual activities, and has not mentioned Parchin in its reports since 2008.
The radio said: "Whatever the reasoning of the agency is, it proves the IAEA is not loyal to its previous commitments."
The tone of the commentary suggested the visit to the military complex would probably be denied.
The IAEA visit comes after Iran announced last week what it described as key advancements in its nuclear programme, inserting the first domestically-made fuel rod into a research reactor in Tehran and installing a new generation of Iranian-made centrifuges at the country's main uranium enrichment facility in the central town of Natanz.
Beyond concerns about the purported weapons work, Washington and its allies want Iran to halt uranium enrichment, which they believe could eventually lead to weapons-grade material and the production of nuclear weapons.
Iran has been enriching uranium up to 20%, while uranium enriched to more than 90% can be used for a nuclear warhead.
The IAEA team wants to talk to key Iranian scientists suspected of working on an alleged weapons programme. They also hope to break down opposition to their plans to inspect documents related to nuclear work and secure commitments from Iranian authorities to allow future visits.
Iran has denied weapons experiment allegations for nearly four years, saying they are based on "fabricated documents" provided by a "few arrogant countries" - a phrase authorities in Iran often use to refer to the US and its allies.
The IAEA summarised its information last November in a 13-page document drawing on 1,000 pages of intelligence. It stated then for the first time that some of the alleged experiments could have no purpose other than developing nuclear weapons.
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