"There will definitely be a clause on human rights included in the Agreement", said a EU spokesman to question from Iran Press Service, adding that so far, there had been "some agreements" over certain aspects of the proposal.

Mr. Kamal Kharrazi was the first Iranian Foreign Minister to be invited by the European Union ever since the victory of the Islamic revolution in 1979.

He met successively with Mr. Louis Michel, his Belgian counterpart who is also the present Chairman of the Union’s foreign ministers, Mr. Romano Prodi, the Italian President of the organisation, Mr. Chris Patten, the Union’s British Commissar for International Trade and Mr. Xavier Solana, the Spanish "Super minister" co-ordinating the Organisation’s foreign security affairs, discussing, among other topic, signing a Trade, Custom and economic co-operation.

He also met with the Vice-President of the European Commission Mrs. Loyola de Palacio on the prospects of boosting Iran's long-term co-operation with the EU in the field of oil and gas sectors.

The agreement, if finalised, would give a great boost to Iranian non-oil product, as they would enjoy more facility entering the huge European market, analysts said.

"At this stage, we explained to Mr. Kharrazi and his party how trade agreements with the Union work. We explained to him the mechanism of trade and custom agreements, but the project would be presented to the Iranians probably under the Spanish presidency that starts next year", the source said, adding that Mr. Khatami’s new government must give "serious thought to the question of human rights".

Iranian state-controlled media ignored the human rights aspects of the discussions and the press in general gave a low-profile covering to the event, reflecting the ruling ayatollah’s sensitivity to the question.

EU sources told IPS that experts from the Union would go soon to Tehran for explaining the proposal to the Iranians and if every thing would go smoothly, it could be finalised next year.

Though a signatory to the United Nation’s charts, however, the Iranian say they obey by what they call Islamic human rights that is largely incompatible with the internationally accepted Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"Naturally we are favouring the acceleration of negotiations on finalising the Trade and Co-operation Agreement, but of course, efforts must be accomplished (by the Iranian side) on problems such as human rights, asylum and immigration", Mr. Michel told reporters at the end of his talks with Mr. Kharazi.

Asked about the same question by Brussels French-language newspaper "Le Soir", Mr. Kharazi observed that nowhere human rights were respected 100 per cent, including in Europe. "The important, he said, is a nation’s will to better respect human rights, it is regrettable that the West tackles the issue on a selective manner".

"Our cultural values are different from yours", he pointed out when pressed with more questions about the clampdown on the press, imprisonment of journalists and the public executions, stoning and floggings. "Take the case of the raping of a Christian women by four men. The public demanded a public punishment and got it", he said in response to the paper’s question on recent public stoning, executions and floggings as well on the massive clampdown on independent and reform seeking press and imprisonment of journalists. ENDS IRAN EU 11901