By NATHAN GUTTMAN
Former US president Jimmy Carter will meet next week in Washington with former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, who will be visiting the US.
Carter's term as president was marked by the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Teheran, following the Islamic revolution in the country and by Carter's failed attempt to release the 52 Americans who were held hostage at the embassy.
Khatami is the most senior Iranian official to visit the US since the revolution. The State Department announced that no American official will meet with Khatami, but still agreed to issue him a visa. American Jewish groups and Israeli diplomats have expressed their dismay over the fact that the US is allowing the former Iranian president to visit.
Khatami will speak next Thursday at the National Cathedral in Washington and will also hold meetings in New York.