Hours before expected arrival of IAEA chief, days ahead of nuke talks with world powers, Iran says West must end ´hostile behavior.´ Ya´alon: Don´t fall into Tehran´s trap

Iran is hoping that a visit by the UN nuclear watchdog chief on Monday will lead to an accord on how to resolve disputes on monitoring its nuclear activities, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in media reports.

But in the meantime, the Iranian parliament is continuing to lash out against the west, making it clear that they would not accept an agreement that does not answer all their demands. The Fars news agency reported that out of 290 Iranian parliament members, 203 signed a manifesto the expresses support for Iran´s negotiating team ahead of the Baghdad talks with the world powers.

"And now it is the West´s turn to build the Iranian nation´s confidence and put an end to its hostile behavior," the statement signed by 203 Iranian parliamentarians said on Sunday.

"We warn the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) to respect the rights of the Iranian nation, act on the basis of the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) which is an internationally accepted norm and free from the Zionists´ pressures and change the policy of confrontation with the Islamic Republic to a policy of interaction," the statement stressed.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said its chief, Yukiya Amano, will arrive in Iran on Monday and meet Tehran´s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

Earlier this week, Iran and IAEA officials met in the Austrian capital for their first talks in three months, which were described by the agency as "a good exchange of views."

While in Tehran, Amano will "discuss issues of mutual interest with high Iranian officials," the IAEA said in a statement Friday.

Aside from Jalili, the talks will include "senior representatives of the Iranian government," it noted without elaborating.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi confirmed the visit.

"The director general´s visit is based on earlier invitations from the head of (Iranian) Atomic Energy Organisation and me last year," he told the official IRNA news agency.

Salehi added that Amano will hold talks with Jalili, Freydoon Abassi Davani, the chief of Iran´s atomic program, and himself, and that the trip will focus on cooperation between the two sides.

The Baghdad talks might be a last chance for both sides to reach a compromise following the imposition of severe sanctions on the Islamic Republic, including a fuel boycott from the EU.

Meanwhile, discussing the upcoming talks in Baghdad, Minister Moshe Ya´alon said that it would be preferable for the Iranian nuclear program to be stopped without a military operation.

"Anyone who has experienced war understands that war is the last thing (you want) even though you always have to be prepared," Ya´alon noted and expressed his support for sanctions and political isolation towards Iran. Ya´alon added that "at this stage the Iranians are still maneuvering in order to play for time…" noting that he "hoped the western representatives who are currently negotiating with Iran over Tehran´s nuclear program "don´t fall into the Iranian trap as they did in the past – of maneuvering in order to play for time." AFP contributed to the report (Copyright 2012 © Yedioth Internet 05/20/12)