ATLANTA, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has asked that his trip to the United States include a meeting with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
The Carter Center in Atlanta was trying to accommodate the request, the former president's aide, Phil Wise, told Wednesday's Washington Post.
"President Carter is open to a meeting if the former president of Iran would like to have one," Wise said.
Carter's presidency was dominated by a severing of relations after the 1979 Iranian revolution and the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days, until the day he left office.
Khatami, who was Iran's president from 1997-2005, has not disavowed the hostage taking.
The former Iranian leader is to arrive in the United States Thursday. The U.S. State Department issued him a visa with no travel restrictions.
