UK foreign secretary to visit Iran

Jack Straw announces his historic visit to Iran

Jack Straw is to become the first UK foreign secretary to visit Iran since the 1979 revolution.

Mr Straw's trip is the latest in a hectic series of global diplomatic efforts since the terror attacks on the US 10 days ago.

Mr Khatami and Mr Blair spoke on the telephone

He announced that he would be making the historic trip shortly before Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Brussels for a summit of EU leaders after flying back from the US.

Mr Straw said he had planned to go to the country later in the year, but in the wake of a phone call between Mr Blair and Iran's President Khatami the visit had been brought forward to early next week.

Mr Straw said relations with the country had greatly improved in recent months.

He would also be visiting Israel and Jordan, he added.

As the crisis intensifies Britain has emerged as a channel of communication between the United States and Iran

Jim Muir
BBC correspondent

The BBC's Teheran correspondent Jim Muir said: "As the crisis intensifies Britain has emerged as a channel of communication between the United States and Iran which is desperately trying to avert what it fears will be a calamity, perhaps even greater than that inflicted on New York and Washington."

He added that Iran was concerned that a major assault on Afghanistan would cause another humanitarian disaster and trigger an anti-western backlash in the Muslim world.