US trying to 'trick' Iran over nuke deal, says Larijani

Iranian parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani said yesterday that Washington was trying to "trick" Tehran through a high-profile nuclear fuel deal brokered by the UN atomic watchdog.

The conservative who was Tehran's former chief nuclear negotiator also said Iranians must avoid falling prey to US "smiles" as the Americans carry "hidden daggers."

"If we analyse the role of the United States in the Iranian nuclear issue, it turns out that there was a trick in this proposal. They felt that they can politically cheat" Iran, Larijani told the official IRNA news agency.

The UN-brokered deal envisages Iran sending most of its stock of low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for converting into fuel for a research reactor in Tehran.

Iranian officials, including Larijani, have rejected the proposal, but world powers, including Washington, still hope Tehran could agree to the offer.

But Larijani warned Tehran must remain alert when negotiating with Washington.

"One should not fall for US smiles and tactics. Americans sometimes talk about peace and sometimes they smile at the Islamic republic's officials... but they have hidden daggers behind themselves.

"If the country's officials are smart, mature, and love the nation's interests, they will not fall for US smiles. It is a big mistake if we think they will change their behaviour just because there is a change in administration," the Iranian politician said.

US President Barack Obama's administration has made repeated overtures towards Iran to end what is a three-decade old diplomatic tussle, which began since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.

World powers want Tehran's LEU stock to be taken out of the country as they fear it would be further enriched to higher levels by Iran and used in making atomic weapons, a charge strongly denied by the Islamic republic.

Iranian officials insist the only way the LEU would leave Iran was through a simultaneous exchange of 20 percent enriched uranium required as fuel for the Tehran reactor.

Meanwhile, the UN atomic watchdog begins a two-day meeting Thursday, the last to be chaired by Egyptian diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei, who steps down on November 30 after 12 years at the helm of the IAEA.