The U.S. State Department said on Monday that it will allow Iran's ex-president Mohammad Khatami to visit Washington next week.

"If he (Khatami) does intend to travel to the United States for the purposes for which a visa was requested, then it is my understanding that the visa will be issued," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"This was a decision that was made (to allow Khatami a visa)," McCormack said. However, there were no plans for U.S. officials to meet Khatami during his proposed visit, the spokesman added.

Khatami, who was Iranian president from 1997 to 2005, and described as a reformist cleric, has been invited to speak next month on "understanding between civilizations and cultures" at the Washington National Cathedral, the event organizer, amid tensions over a nuclear dispute with the Islamic republic.

He will be the most high-profile Iranian to visit the U.S. since ties were severed between the two countries after the 1979 Islamic revolution and 52 Americans were held hostage in the U.S. embassy for 444 days.

Before visiting Washington, Khatami is set to attend a UN. conference in New York led by the prime ministers of Spain and Turkey.

Source: Xinhua