Tehran will seek reparations from the United Nations for damage done to Iran's economy during the Allied invasion of the country in 1941, an Israeli television station has reported.

According to the report, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during a press conference in Copenhagen he would write a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "asking for Iran to be compensated" for suffering caused to its people during the war and for the usage of its resources by Allied powers.

"Not only was Iran deprived of any compensation for the second world war, but 10 years later, the US arranged a coup to reverse a popular uprising that had led to the nationalisation of oil," the president was quoted as saying.