The European Union and Iran had a verbal dispute Monday concerning a planned visit by a delegation from the European Parliament to Tehran. Each side has accused the other of calling off the visit at the last minute.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the 11-member delegation had decided to postpone the visit, which was set to begin on Thursday and run until next Monday. The Iranian IRNA news agency quoted Mehmanparast as saying a new date would be set. He did not give a specific reason for the postponement.

But, according to German MEP and delegation leader Barbara Lochbihler, it was Tehran which had cancelled the visit.

"Yesterday the Iranian ambassador in Brussels informed me that they could not arrange this meeting and had to cancel it at a very late stage. It is strange to cancel this visit at such a late stage," she said.

The purpose of the EU delegation's visit was to explore possibilities of improving cooperation with Iran's parliament and discuss the ongoing dispute over Iran's nuclear programs.

US says meeting plans "counter-productive"

In addition to the statements made by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, IRNA also reported that the EU delegation had cancelled the visit because of protests by members of US Congress. Lochbihler confirmed she had received a letter from Congress asking her delegation to not go ahead with the visit as it would be "counter-productive."

However, she says she rejected the American appeal. "Those, such as some members of the US Congress and of the European Parliament, who urged the delegation not to go, gave the Iranian government an excuse to cancel the delegation on the grounds of excessive media pressure," Lochbihler said in a statement.

Avoiding escalation

Currently, both the US and the EU are considering new sanctions against Iran in response to its nuclear program. Tehran already ignored a US deadline set last month for the country to accept a UN deal involving the shipment of most of its low- enriched uranium stockpile abroad for processing into fuel for a research reactor.

Rebecca Harms, the chairwoman of the Green Party in the EU Parliament, has warned against such moves by the West. "If more sanctions are imposed, they should be in areas which directly hit the (Iranian) government," she said.

In addition to discussing Iran's nuclear program, the EU delegation was set to meet with leading members of the opposition.

"Our partners' disappointment is great, because the presence of the MEPs could have been an expression of solidarity with the goals of the Green (opposition) Movement, which is supported by millions of Iranians. That was clearly too dangerous for the regime in Tehran," Lochbihler said.

Lochbihler added that the trip's cancellation would not stop her and her delegation from keeping events in Iran on the European agenda.

mk/dpa/AFP

Editor: Susan Houlton