| I think my surprise meter wiggled. |
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan canceled his forthcoming trip to Tehran after the Iranian president's call to "wipe Israel off the map," the United Nations said on Friday. Annan had planned to visit the Iranian capital in mid-November during swing through the Middle East beginning next week, presumably to talk about Iran's nuclear policy. But since the trip was arranged, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the comment on October 26, drawing international condemnation.
"The secretary-general and the Iranian government have mutually agreed that this is not an appropriate time for him to travel to Iran," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. "In light of the ongoing controversy, it would have been difficult to advance the agenda that he had wanted to discuss with the Iranian leadership," Dujarric said.
The news was first disclosed by California Rep. Tom Lantos a long-time friend of Annan and his wife, Nane, and the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee. Lantos praised Annan "for postponing a trip to Iran in the wake of outrageous comments made late last week by the Iranian president that included a call to wipe another U.N. member-state 'off the map."| I think Iran figured out anothe stalling tactic to keep the int'l community at bay while they ramp up uranium enrichment... |
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