CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Iran and the United States need to calm down in the dispute over Iran's nuclear policy, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami says.
Khatami made the remarks at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government Sunday to a crowd of 800 students, faculty and visitors, The Boston Globe reported.
"Today we are faced with an astounding situation that seriously threatens both the East and the West," he said. "One should not engage in violence in the name of any religion, just as one should not and ought not turn the world into one's military camp in the name of democracy."
Khatami, a moderate who led Iran for eight years before being ousted by hard-line Muslims, arrived in the United States on Aug. 31 for a speaking tour of five cities.
Sunday night at the Cambridge, Mass., address, some 200 demonstrators gathered outside to protest his invitation to speak and chanting, "Shame on Harvard," the newspaper said.
The United States is leading the push to impose sanctions on Iran for failing to stop enriching uranium.
