Iran suspected of stalling with nuke talks

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WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- Upcoming multilateral nuclear talks with Iran in Baghdad may be a ruse meant to give the Iranian government time to continue enrichment, a U.S. lawmaker said.

Baghdad next week is the site of negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program. April talks in Turkey were described as positive, though few details were publicized.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said she was concerned that Iran might be using multilateral talks as a stalling tactic.

"We need to learn the lessons from our experience in North Korea, where we went through round after round of talks and concessions followed, inevitably, by another provocative action after another from the North Korean regime," she said in a statement.

North Korea was suspected of making preparations for a nuclear test following last month's failure rocket launch, which was announced shortly after the United States agreed to a large food aid package for North Korea.

Ros-Lehtinen said there was "mounting evidence" that Iran was working on the technology needed to manufacture a nuclear weapon.

An Iranian delegation arrived in Vienna this week to meet with officials from the International Atomic Energy Association ahead of Wednesday talks in Baghdad. They were the first such direct negotiations in three months.