"He has made clear his desire (to come to Iran). We see no obstacle there," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters.

"We think such meetings and political exchanges help better understanding of the realities of the region."

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner last week answered "yes" to a question posed by the Le Figaro newspaper over whether he would be ready to visit Iran if invited.

He had earlier caused a storm by saying the world should brace for war over the Iranian nuclear programme: "We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war," he said.

Iran expressed anger over his comments, saying they showed the increasing American sympathies of the French government since the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as president.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.