Iranian President to address the American people

The Iranian President, Mohammad Khatami, will become the first Iranian leader to address the American people since the Islamic revolution two decades ago, in an interview with the American channel, CNN, to be broadcast tonight 2300G.

Mr Khatami is expected to follow up the conciliatory comments he made last month, when he said he wanted a dialogue with the American people.

Much of Iran's conservative clerical establishment, including the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is hostile to the idea and has warned against any rapprochment with Washington.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service