"I have told this to U.S. officials I have met recently; Iran has turned into one of the biggest powers in Iraq, a country it used to be at war with for several years," Ate? told the Turkish Daily News in an interview.

"Iran is the biggest power in Palestine, as the major supporter of ruling Hamas; in Syria, it is more powerful compared to how it used to be; it enjoys widespread sympathy across the Arab world because it resists the United States' pressure; in Lebanon, Iran moved to fill the gap that emerged with the withdrawal of Syrian troops; and in Egypt, the Muslim Brothers that Iran has close ties with almost managed to come to power."

Ates went on to say that Turkey, which maintains the second biggest army in NATO and has had a stable political system for several decades, did not parallel Iranian influence in the region, even in Central Asian republics with which Turkey has ethnic and cultural affinities.

Ates, a deputy from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), also warned that there would be serious implications if a military operation is launched on Iran because of its controversial nuclear program in the form of an increased terrorist threat across the world and severe economic costs stemming from possible cuts in Iranian energy supplies.

According to Ates, a recent U.S. decision to restore diplomatic relations with Libya came as Washington was working on ways to deal with negative repercussions on world energy markets that are likely to stem from further tension with Iran.

Iran's insistence on carrying on with its contentious nuclear program is driven by a feeling of insecurity on the part of Tehran, and attempts to find a way out of a crisis should focus on how to remove this, a Turkish lawmaker who has done intensive work on the issue said.

He proposed region-wide security talks to boost a feeling of confidence and said Turkey should lead efforts to initiate such a process.

Swedish parliamentarian Golan Lindblad is now the rapporteur dealing with the Iran file, as Ates has taken over the top post of the Political Affairs Committee.

"Iran does not feel secure in this region. And if we want to resolve this issue, we need to assess why Iran feels insecure and eliminate conditions that feed such a feeling. This is what we, as the international community -- most notably the United States -- and countries of the region, including Turkey, should focus on."

Iran, at the expense of possible sanctions at the U.N. Security Council, is insisting on its plans to carry on with uranium enrichment work, saying the process is solely for peaceful purposes. But the West remains highly suspicious of its intentions, saying the country is aspiring to nuclear weapons.

Turkey is worried that tension could culminate in a crisis, something that Turkish officials fear would lead to serious consequences for regional stability.

Ates did not elaborate on what the regional security process should involve but said countries of the region would have many common interests, particularly in the economic and energy fields, to inspire them to act together on a variety of security issues.

He also said it should be meant to remove the security concerns not only of Iran but also of other countries, such as Israel, and added that other regional actors, like Azerbaijan and Armenia, would also have to be a part of the security talks, recalling the Turkey-backed Stability Pact for the South Caucasus that was initiated in the last decade among Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and which helped end armed clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over Nagorno Karabakh.

"This is necessary for Iran, Israel and other countries of the region. Such an initiative would ease the concerns of countries of the region, help their better integration with the international community and deal with the threat of terrorism stemming from this region," he said. "I don't think Iran would spend a huge amount of money in dead investments like that if there were regional peace."

The strong public support for the Iranian leadership's plans to carry on with the nuclear program is an indication that the Iranian people, justifiably or not, feel they are in danger and that having nuclear weapons is one of the best ways to remove that danger.

"This is what we should dispense with," Ate? said.

The CHP parliamentarian said Turkey could play a central role in such a process aimed at boosting regional security, criticizing the current 'piecemeal' approach of the government, which he said had failed to grasp the fundamental problems that lie at the heart of the dispute.

"Major decisions are always made somewhere, and Turkey is contacted only when there are minor problems to take care of," he said, lamenting that European powers such as France, Germany and Britain are involved in key talks with Iran but that Turkey is excluded.

"We should offer comprehensive projects to the international community. We are part of this region, instead of passing messages from Iran to Europe and the United States and vice versa."

Ates also lamented that he has yet to receive an official response from the government on Turkey's Iran policy almost two years after he presented a formal question on this to Parliament.

Ates said international doubts over Iran's plans were justified, saying that the country has breached its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty several times and that Tehran has rich natural gas and oil reserves that it can use to meet its energy needs and sustain significant amount of income as a result of its energy exports for many years to come.

"Looking at Iran's energy resources, I don't think it needs to enrich uranium for energy purposes," Ate? said, adding that nuclear energy would not be 'rational' for a country like Iran, which lacks in uranium ore reserves.

"Even if it enriches uranium, Iran will end up being dependent on outside suppliers for raw material. Therefore, it does not look economical or rational for Iran to pursue uranium enrichment as a source of energy," he said.

The CHP lawmaker also recalled that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had discovered in Iran a much-improved type of uranium-enrichment centrifuge, known as P2, which could be used for producing nuclear weapons as it makes uranium enrichment at a much faster speed possible.

Findings of uranium particles, whose enrichment level reached 30-35 percent, at the Iranian sites added to Western concerns as a three or four percentage of enrichment level of uranium was enough to produce nuclear energy, he said.

Powerful statements of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad against Israel, calling for the Jewish state's 'elimination' from the map, have only added to Western worries.

"Given all this, Iran's credibility has weakened considerably."

/www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/