He was answering a question based on an article from his first interview with a major American newsmagazine that had concluded that Iran "wants to achieve very thing but give up nothing".

"Although the international affairs is based on trade but the policy should be formed in line with the principles and interests of the countries. We believe that the United Sates should, first, prove that it is honestly determined to develop its relations with Iran and this should be achieved through a change in its hostile policy toward Iran which still continues,'' he said, quoted by the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

In introduction to an interview with the Iranian Foreign Minister, the American magazine Newsweek's Lally Weymouth wrote: "It's clear that the Clinton administration would like to improve relations with Iran. Indeed, the administration has made some gestures to Tehran. But the Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi makes clear that Iran wants all give and no take.

In the interview, Mr. Kharrazi described as a "positive development" the change in President Bill Clinton's "language" but stressed immediately that the outgoing US President has to "take practical steps" as well.

Afraid of being slapped by ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, the lamed leader of the Islamic regime who is staunchly against any normalisation with Washington, Mr. Kharrazi skipped clear cut questions by providing ambivalent answers. Typically, when asked if Iran sees the United States as a Great Satan? he told Newsweek "I believe that if the U.S. changes its policies toward Iran [we would not be] enemies. It is natural to label each other in times of animosity. The question is how to change the environment".

Concerning Israel and its right to existence, Mr. Kharrazi reiterated that the Islamic Republic does not recognise Israel "at all". "I don't think that Iran's position toward Israel would change, (in the unlikely case that peace is reached between Syria and Israel) because we do not recognise Israel as a legitimate government. It's not a country to us. That wouldn't change no matter what the surrounding states [do in relation to Israel] Israel has occupied the territories of people in that region, and it should be recognised as an occupying entity", he emphasised.

However, statements made recently by several prominent moderate personalities close to President Khatami calling more or less openly for normalisation with Washington and recognition of Israel, though in more veiled tones, points to new and fiercest battles between hard liners and reformists in the likelihood that supporters of Mr. Khatami score victory in the future Majles, taking into account that it is the leader, and not the president, who dictates the regime's foreign policy guidelines on major issues.

Both men are running for the 18^th February parliamentary elections on the ticket of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, a recently formed political organisation that supports President Khatami.

Mr. Karbaschi, an influential member of the pro-Rafsanjani Reconstruction Servants Party, was jailed last year on charges of abuse of power, embezzlement of public funds and corruption, but it is an established fact that he was "punished" because of the important role he played in the presidential election of May 1997 that witnessed the surprise landslide victory of the relatively unknown hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami against hojatoleslam Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, the Speaker of the Majles who was massively supported by the conservatives and backed by ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i. He was freed two weeks ago on leader's pardon.