The United States said on Wednesday that it is providing security for Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami who is now in the United States.

"Our Diplomatic Security Service is providing security services for the former president," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a briefing.

"There's precedent for this. Former high-ranking officials traveling throughout the United States, we've done this type of thing before," McCormack said.

According to a report by the Washington Post, the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security is providing protection for Khatami's 13-member entourage, which includes two of his children, during the tour of New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston and Charlottesville.

Khatami, who now heads a group called the International Center for Dialogue Among Civilizations, is now on a private visit to the United States and he is scheduled to make a speech on dialogue between civilizations at Washington's National Cathedral on Thursday.

The U.S. State Department has said that during his stay in the United States, there are no plans for the government officials to meet with him.

Source: Xinhua