Euro-MPs postpone Tehran visit after US protest

(TEHRAN) - A delegation of European MPs has postponed a visit due this week to Iran, the Iranian foreign ministry said on Monday, after a storm of protest from the US Congress.

State-run IRNA news agency quoted ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying a new date for the visit will be taken "by mutual agreement", noting the importance of maintaining "cooperation" between the two parliaments.

The EU lawmakers were due to meet human rights activists as well as Iranian MPs at a time when Iran's opposition is facing a government crackdown amid ongoing protests over the disputed re-election in June of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Around 15 members of the US Congress protested against the visit in a letter to the head of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, arguing that it came at an "inappropriate" time, a spokeswoman for Buzek told AFP on Friday.

Iranian security forces have arrested scores of opposition figures and dissidents following fierce clashes in Tehran on December 27 between police and protesters in which at last eight people were killed, opposition websites said.

Iran is also facing the risk of fresh UN sanctions over its nuclear drive.

The European Union has condemned Iran's crackdown on opponents of Ahmadinejad and called for the rights of protesters to be respected.

Last month the leaders of the 27 European Union nations expressed support for new sanctions against Iran, warning that Tehran's refusal to negotiate over its nuclear programme must be met with a "clear response."