UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has cancelled a planned trip to Iran this month because of the controversy involving the Iranian president`s comments about Israel.

Annan`s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told RFE/RL that Annan had planned to discuss with Iranian officials cooperation on stabilization efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as UN reform.

But those talks were compromised by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad`s threat last month to "wipe Israel off the map."

Annan condemned the remarks. Dujarric says Annan`s decision to cancel the visit followed talks with representatives of the Iranian mission to the UN in New York.

"The secretary-general and the Iranian government have mutually agreed that this is not an appropriate time for him to travel to Iran. 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.

Annan plans to follow through with the rest of his upcoming trip to the Mideast. He will depart this weekend for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Pakistan. He is expected to address a major conference on Pakistan?s needs for post-earthquake rehabilitation.
sections: Politics, World News