IRAN CALLS FOR SUPPORT

 -- Iran says it wants more clarity from the IAEA before it allows inspectors into the Parchin military complex south of Tehran, one of Iran's most influential officials said Wednesday.

Iran denies it conducted any nuclear experiments there, even though it is suspected of having tested explosives for a nuclear device in the early 2000s. High-level diplomats report it's believed Iran abruptly stopped any work toward weaponizing its nuclear program after 2003. But weapons inspectors want to make sure.

"If the Western community is asking us for more transparency, then we should expect more cooperation," said Mohammad Javad Larijani, a member of a powerful political clan in Iran and an adviser to the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

International powers have agreed to resume nuclear talks with Tehran in the pursuit of a diplomatic solution to the tensions over Iran's controversial nuclear program amid saber rattling in Israel about the possible need for a pre-emptive strike.

The equation is simple. The Western community can ask us for more transparency. What we want in place of that is cooperation," Larijani said. "I mean this is two parallel lines. One step transparency from us, one step cooperation from (the) West. Because we have full total suspicion of the American and Western intentions."

The six powers that negotiate with Iran -- the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany -- have urged Tehran to grant inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency access to its Parchin military base.

But in an interview in Geneva, Larijani said that allowing inspectors in before the start of the new talks would "not contribute to confidence." He denied that any nuclear-related activities are taking place at Parchin.

IAEA inspectors visited Parchin twice in 2005, but they did not enter the building that housed the test chamber.

Last week, two Western diplomats told stated that satellite images show trucks and earth-moving vehicles at Parchin. The description buttresses IAEA concerns that the Iranians were trying to clean up the facility. But the diplomats said that while the imagery does show cleanup activity, it's not clear what might be being cleared away.

Iran offered last week to let international nuclear inspectors into Parchin, but only after details are worked out. IAEA inspectors had asked to visit the facility during a February trip to Iran but were rebuffed.This sissue of Iran going nuclear seems to be reaching a critical point,and may seem to be simmering down due to the looming elections to be held in most countries including the West.One can only imagine what resorts would be made after full attention can be placed on Iran.

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