September 12, 2003	Friday	Rajab 14, 1424

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SARAJEVO, Sept 11: Iran is willing to cooperate with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, but setting Tehran a deadline to prove that it is not running a covert atomic weapons programme will complicate the situation, said Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi here on Thursday.

“We are ready to cooperate with the IAEA fully to give them access to files to do an inspection,” Mr Kharazi told journalists during a one-day visit to the Bosnian capital.

The Iranian minister said cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would be “useful”, but he warned that “putting pressure on Iran will make it more complicated”.

Mr Kharazi was speaking as the IAEA decided to delay a crucial meeting in Vienna on Thursday on imposing a deadline for Iran as the United States and 14 allies lobbied for resolution on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Mr Kharazi appeared to soften his tone after fierce rhetoric on Wednesday in Tehran when he denounced the “arrogance” and “extremist posture” of certain countries over Iran’s nuclear programme and warned Tehran might reconsider its cooperation with the Vienna-based IAEA.—AFP