Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has agreed in principle to meet Iranian
ex-President Mohammad Khatami when the former Iranian leader visits the United
States this week, the Washington Post reported yesterday.
Carter's term as president was dominated by the rupture in relations
following the 1979 Iranian revolution and the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in
Tehran, where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days until the day he left
office.
"Carter, who has every reason to be angry about the way in which the Iranian
revolution undid his presidency over the hostage affair, is willing to meet,
with no hesitation, a person who was president of the Islamic republic and who
never disavowed Ayatollah Khomeni's actions when he was supreme leader," William
Quandt, a national security official in charge of the Middle East during the
Carter administration was quoted as saying.
The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that it had issued a visa to
Khatami to visit Washington.
There will be no restrictions on Khatami's travel in the United States, State
Department spokesman Tom Casey said, adding, "This is an opportunity in part for
former President Khatami to hear the concerns of the American people."
Khatami, who served as Iranian president from 1997 to 2005, was described as
a reformer in Iran's political arena. He is scheduled to speak at Washington
National Cathedral on Sept 7.
Khatami's schedule may also include speeches at the University of Virginia
and to an Islamic group in Chicago. He may pay a private visit to Thomas
Jefferson's home at Monticello, according to sources familiar with his trip. He
will begin his visit in New York at a U.N. conference on the dialogue of
civilizations.
"Mr Khatami is free to meet with who he chooses and is able to speak freely
in the United States," a White House official said on condition of anonymity.
Khatami's visit comes amid high tensions between Washington and Tehran over
Iran's suspected program to develop nuclear weapons and its alleged support for
Hezbollah guerrillas.
