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News & Views Iranian president set to visit Germany: report BONN, Jan 30 (AFP) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is "delighted" at a planned visit by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, spokesman Bodo Hombach was quoted Saturday as saying. Chancellery Minister Hombach is set to travel to Tehran next week when he will hand over an invitation from Schroeder for Khatami to visit Germany in the spring, the daily Die Welt reported. Khatami's European trip is also expected to take in Italy and France. While in Tehran, Hombach will seek to improve economic and cultural ties, as well as pave the way for a Khatami visit, the paper said. However the minister would not confirm that the Iranian President would receive a formal invitation. Another point of concern for Germany, and Hombach, is the case of Helmut Hofer, German businessman who faces the death penalty in Iran. Hofer was sentenced to death early last year for having an affair with a Moslem woman, not permitted under the laws of Iran's Islamic republic. Die Welt saw Hombach's visit as a sign that the Hofer matter will be happily resolved. Twenty years after the Islamic Revolution, Iran has toned down its harsh rhetoric and shifted its goal from exporting its radical ideology to seeking more normal relations with the rest of the Moslem world. It was not until Khatami's election in May 1997 that Iran managed to charm the outside world with his detente policies, trying to reintegrate the country into the world community. Links * Iran News
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