Ex-Iranian president is planning D.C.
visit to address faith, peace

By Barry Schweid
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Despite a diplomatic standoff over nuclear weapons and other difficult issues, a former Iranian president is making plans to speak next month at the Washington National Cathedral.

The former president, Mohammad Khatami, would be the most senior Iranian official to visit Washington since Islamic fundamentalists seized the U.S. Embassy in 1979 and held Americans there hostage for 444 days. The Iranian Embassy in Washington closed in April 1980, and there have been no formal relations between the two countries since then, although U.S. and Iranian diplomats on some occasions have participated in multinational meetings, such as on Afghanistan. Former diplomats and members of Congress have been lobbying publicly for the White House to deal directly with Iran on its nuclear program. A State Department official, who was not authorized to be identified by name, said applications for visas had been received from Khatami and several Iranians who would travel with him. The applications are under review, the official said. At the Cathedral, the Rev. Canon John L. Peterson, director of its Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation, said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan had invited Khatami to participate in a conference to promote dialogue. He said the church's center "thought it would be appropriate to invite the (former) president to speak on the role that the three Abrahamic faiths can play in shaping peace." "We have a special commitment to embracing the children of Abraham," he said, referring to Muslims, Christians and Jews. Evan Anderson, deputy director of the Center, said the former president was in Dubai preparing to apply for permission to visit the United States. "Any headway that is to be made in U.S.-Iranian relations is very important," Anderson said. Religious groups should play a role in fostering dialogue with Iran, he said. Khatami would speak at the Cathedral Sept. 7 on the role of Muslims, Christians and Jews in improving world understanding.

Plans call for the event, at the National Cathedral at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 7, to be free and open to the public.