Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham made the offer yesterday in a diplomatic note to the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa. He was responding to Iran's attempts Thursday to draw a parallel between Zahra Kazemi's death in custody in Iran on July 10 and the fatal July 14 shooting by a Port Moody police officer of Keyvan Tabesh, an Iranian youth who was allegedly wielding a machete.

Though he rejected the analogy, Mr. Graham told reporters he would use the homicide inquiry and a planned coroner's inquest into Mr. Tabesh's death in B.C. to show Iran how democratic societies conduct such investigations. He urged Iran to follow its lead by giving Canadian officials access to an equally transparent investigation into how Ms. Kazemi died from a fractured skull.

[Qolamreza Ansari, the Head of the Consular affairs expressed concern over the security of Iranian community in Canada and asked the charge d'affaires to quickly examine the issue and present a report on that. He also demanded that those behind the killing be identified and brought to justice.

[Poirier, summoned in the absence of Canadian Ambassador Philip MacKinnon, promised to reflect Iran's demands to his country's authorities in the earliest and present accordingly a necessary answer, the spokesman said.

"And I expect us to have the reciprocal rights and privileges in Iran. In that case, for example, we would expect the same form of open, transparent investigation into the death of Mrs. Kazemi to take place with the opportunity of our officials to be present and represented as we will offer them the same representation in our society."

Mr. Graham returns to Ottawa today to meet Canada's ambassador to Iran to consider other measures to bring Iran to heel over the Kazemi inquiry and the government's continued efforts to have her remains returned to Canada. Trade and diplomatic sanctions are on the list.

Mr. Graham said the need for an impartial inquiry is more apparent in light of new revelations that a senior Iranian official said he had been coerced into covering up the beating death of Ms. Kazemi by stating falsely she had died of a stroke.

"It's now clear there has been acceptance that the death occurred as a result of actions of authorities in the prison. That's beyond doubt now. It's just a question of ascertaining who those authorities are", he added.

"And, of course, we've seen the recent reports the effect there was pressure put on certain Iranian authorities to provide a false declaration as to the cause of death. We are assuming that all of these matters will be the subject of an open inquiry in Iran, which we will have the opportunity to participate in".

Mr. Graham laid out the plans for the Tabesh inquiry, beginning with the current homicide investigation into the culpability of the police officer, now on leave, and going on to a public coroner's inquest into the circumstances of the death.

It also noted the remains of Mr. Tabesh had been returned to his family and buried in Vancouver, as per the family's request, a pointed shot at the refusal of Iranian authorities to heed the requests to return her body to Canada for burial.

Mr. Graham said he is hoping to persuade the pro-reformist Khatami government to put pressure on the judicial authorities responsible for conducting the inquiry. Reformists in Iran view many in the judiciary as conservative hardliners, and the Kazemi case has become a cause célèbre for both sides in the ongoing power struggle in Iran.

Javad Esmaeili, a veteran Iranian judge, was named yesterday to conduct independent inquiry. Mr. Graham said he that he will seek Mr. MacKinnon's input in evaluating that appointment during their weekend meetings. ENDS CANADA IRAN RELATIONS 26703