During his last trip abroad, the Pope visited Greece, where he demanded the pardon of the Greek orthodoxies for the "sufferings" the Catholic Church had inflicted on them and called for reconciliation between the two branches of Catholicism, and went to Damascus and preyed for peace in a half-destroyed mosque in the ruined city of Kuneitra, at the Syrian-Israeli no man’s land on the Golan heights.

The outgoing Iranian President Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Khatami met the Pope at the Vatican three years ago during his visit to Italy, and invited him to visit Iran, diplomats said, adding that in the view of Iranian clerical rulers, such a visit could enhance further their position in the Middle East.

In the past twelve months, Jean Paul II has visited most of the parties involved in the Middle East conflict, including Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the territories under the rule of Palestinian Authority.

However, his last trip to Syria was marred by outrageous anti-Jewish declarations made by the Syrian ruler Beshar Asad, comparing the Israeli’s to the German Nazis.

According to diplomats, the ailing Pope is keen to find out a workable solution for the future of Jerusalem, a city at the heart of Muslims, Jews and Christians and that both the Israelis and Palestinians wanted it as their capital.

Not being able to sell itself as a serious party to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, Tehran, despite organising conferences in support of the Palestinians, like the recent meeting on backing the Intifada held in Tehran with the participation of the leaders of several hard line Palestinian, Lebanese and Arab extremist, but minor groups opposed to the peace process, may be banking on the Pope’s visit to boast Its position in the region, analysts told Iran Press Service.

Sources close to the Vatican said in his talks and meetings with personalities accompanying Jean Paul II in Damascus, Mr. Sadr has presented an invitation from President Khatami to the Pope and sought support from the Syrians.

But, as mentioned before, Beshar Asad’s outburst against Israel and the Jews backfired.

Vatican and Western sources and analysts said though the Pope is not afraid of putting pressure on Israel, but visiting the Islamic Republic not only could harm his image but also making more difficult to act as a honest broker, as, like the Syrian leader, the Iranians also use same kind of anti-Semite language, as seen by the recent remarks of Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i saying that the Jews co-operated with the SS in Hitler’s Germany.

Iran has a 300.000, 350.000 strong Christian community, most of them Armenians and Orthodox Catholics. ENDS IRAN VATICAN 9501