A top MP said on Friday the Tehran parliament would favour talks with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after her controversial visit to Iran's ally Syria, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. "We are ready for talks with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi," said Mohammad Nabi Rudaki, deputy head of the influential national security commission in Iran's conservative-dominated parliament.
"Parliamentary talks can discuss bilateral problems and bring US, European and Iranian nations closer. They could also consider Iran's peaceful nuclear issues," he said.
But Rudaki added that "this willingness does not mean a resumption of political ties with the occupying and bullying US government."
Pelosi's office said on Wednesday she had no intention of visiting Iran after a top US lawmaker signalled she might be interested in doing so.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos said after accompanying Pelosi to Damascus to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad amid stiff White House opposition that he had tried for more than 10 years to get a visa for Iran.
Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic ties since Islamist revolutionaries raided the US embassy in Iran in 1979 and held staff hostage for 444 days.
The US is spearheading an international campaign to thwart Iran enriching uranium, which it alleges to be a cover for weapons development. Tehran denies the charges, saying its nuclear programme is for purely peaceful purposes.