10 October 2004	Sunday	24 Shaban 1425

TEHRAN, Oct 9: Iran would welcome a proposal by US presidential candidate Senator John Kerry's running mate for a "great bargain" to solve the dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, a senior Iranian official said on Saturday.

Vice presidential candidate Senator John Edwards has said that Kerry, a Democrat, would be willing to supply Iran with nuclear fuel for power generation if Tehran abandons its own fuel-making capability - if Iran did not accept this offer, it would confirm Iran wanted to make an atom bomb.

Iran earlier rejected the proposal, saying it would be "irrational" for Iran to jeopardise what it says is its purely civilian nuclear programme by relying on supplies from abroad.

But in an apparent policy shift, Hossein Mousavian, head of the foreign policy committee at Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Iran would review the proposal.

"Iran welcomes any constructive proposal from any American candidate," Mousavian told Reuters in an interview. "We are willing to consider constructive proposals from Americans," he added.

But he said Iran, as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), should be allowed to pursue its "peaceful nuclear programme".

"Our legitimate right of pursuing peaceful nuclear technology should be considered," he said.-Reuters