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Parliament commission to review nuclear talks with Europeans

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Jan 30, IRNA -- Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi will attend 
parliament`s National Security Commission session Tuesday to review 
developments in Iran`s nuclear talks with the Europeans. 
Several members of Iran`s negotiating team will participate at 
the session, which will include reviewing parliament`s act on access 
to peaceful nuclear technology. 
Last November, parliament passed general outlines of a bill, 
obliging the government to push ahead with the country`s bid to 
develop a civilian nuclear energy program, including a nuclear fuel 
cycle. 
Parliament`s approval coincided with Iran`s agreement with the 
Europeans to suspend the country`s uranium enrichment activities. 
Iran and the Europeans, represented by the `EU three big`, are in 
the midst of crucial talks aimed at finding a long-term solution to 
Tehran`s nuclear program. 
Tehran insists that its nuclear program is solely aimed at power 
generation and strongly rejects US claims that the program is a front 
for building atomic bombs. 
The EU has promised a number of incentives to Iran, including a 
guaranteed supply of reactor fuel, assistance to construction of a 
light-water power reactor and a resumption of stalled trade talks. 
But Tehran has stated that Washington is seeking to scuttle the 
egotiations following bellicose remarks of the US rulers, raising the 
specter of a military showdown. 
George W. Bush was quoted to have said earlier this month that he 
`will never take any option off the table` when asked whether his 
government was willing to consider a military action against 
Tehran`s peaceful nuclear program. 
His remarks were echoed by Vice President Dick Cheney who said 
Israel might strike Iran`s nuclear facilities `without being asked`. 
The statements came on the backdrop of a report written by 
investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker magazine, 
saying US operatives were scouting inside Iran to identify targets 
for possible air strikes. 
Iranian officials have brushed off the report, stressing that it 
is part of a `psychological warfare` being waged by US officials to 
make the Europeans abandon their diplomatic negotiations with Iran. 
"Such talks did not find any audience across the world, including 
among the Europeans; even George Bush`s own peers rejected them as 
amounting to the declaration of an all-out war against the entire 
world," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said last Sunday. 
US Pentagon officials have said the New Yorker report was `riddled
with errors`. 
Intelligence Minister Ali Younessi challenged the United States 
on the report, saying, "We are eagerly looking for the American 
commandos to come to Iran since they are chicks which would rapidly be
picked up by our eagles." 
The EU-Iran talks began after President Mohammad Khatami came to 
power in May 1997, with the EU taking up a policy of `comprehensive 
dialogue` with the Islamic Republic in the form of biannual troika 
meetings on political and economic issues. 
The political part of the dialogue covers issues regarding 
conflicts, including in the Middle East, non-proliferation of weapons 
of mass destruction, human rights and terrorism. 
On the economic front, the European Union is exploring 
possibilities for cooperation with Iran in energy, trade and 
investment as well as refugees and drugs control. 
The EU is Iran`s biggest trading partner, with oil accounting for 
over 80 percent of Tehran`s exports to the EU. Iran also sells 
agricultural products -- mainly pistachios -- as well as textiles and 
carpets to the EU. 
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