Tehran, Dec 27, IRNA -- A group of Iranian lawmakers are to question Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi Sunday for alleged failure of his ministry to address national interests in the Caspian Sea due to what they called "unrealistic appreciation of regional conditions and its key players."

"Mr. Kharrazi would attend open session of Majlis to explain to MPs which measures he has taken so far to defend Iran's rights in exploiting the Caspian Sea resources and reserves," said rapporteur of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Elaheh Koulaie in an interview with IRNA here on Friday.

Koulaie said according to the petition, filed by 86 MPs, Kharrazi would attend the legislation body for the second time since May.

She alleged that the foreign minister had failed in his first appearance in the parliament to properly defend his ministry's function and its measures to incorporate national interests into a legal regime, compiled at the end of the meeting of five littoral states in Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan, in May, 2002.

She ruled out claims that Kharrazi's show up at Majlis in the week had anything to do with recent visit of Russian presidential representative for definition of the Caspian Sea status and Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Kalyuzhny to Tehran.

Kalyuzhny had said in Tehran recently "the Caspian littoral states agree that the prevailing legal regime is ineffective, and have developed a consensus to draw up a new formula" to divide the land-locked sea.

The five littoral states of the Caspian Sea, namely Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia, have still to come up with a formula to govern the exploitation of its resources.

In efforts to arrive at a consensus, Iran is calling for the application of the condominium concept or principle of common sovereignty, and has warned that it will treat as null and void any unilateral deal to explore the sea's resources before a legal regime is established.

The Islamic Republic believes the 1921 and 1940 agreements between Iran and the Soviet Union are still valid and should be enforced until a new regime is drawn up.