In his recent five-city U.S. tour, former Iranian President, Mohamed Khatami gave out speeches, attended interviews and meetings with foreign policy groups, through which he offered a moderate take on relations between East and West, that had been disturbed due to global developments in recent months.
Khatami, who acknowledged the iHolocaust as a "historical fact", condemned Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, focused in his speeches on rejecting violence, and ways for mutual and better understanding between the West on one hand, and the Arab and Muslim world on the other.
His remarks appeared in sharp contrast to the current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose comments about Israel and the Holocaust, though exaggerated by Western media, sparked worldwide outrage.
However, the visit of former Iranian leader, whose remarks were a mixture of calls for rejecting violence and criticism of the U.S., angered conservatives in both countries.
In his speech at Harvard University, Khatami was quoted by the BBC as saying;
"One cannot and ought not engage in violence in the name of any religion, just as one cannot and ought not turn the world into one's military camp in the name of human rights and democracy.
"During the calamity of 11 September, two crimes were committed: One was the killing of innocent people and the second was making this crime in the name of Islam," BBC quoted Mr. Khatami as telling the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
At the Washington National Cathedral, Mr Khatami, who heads the International Centre for Dialogue of Civilisations, stressed the importance of "true inter-civilisational dialogue" between the East and West.
"Great religions, particularly Islam, Judaism and Christianity, can help mankind solve modern problems and challenges by a return to their vital, vibrant and common essence," he said.
Mr. Khatami, who has during his private speaking tour, defended the Lebanese resistance movement, criticised Israel’s brutal policies against the Palestinian nation, and condemned the Sept. 11 attacks, expressed great support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and acknowledged that the U.S. presence in Iraq is needed for the time being.
At home, the former leader was criticised for "recognising the existence of Israel".
Hossein Shariatmadari of the Kayhan daily wrote an article highly critical of the former Iranian leader.
"Why do you oppose Imam (Khomeini's) explicit view of Israel as a cancerous tumour and his demand that it be removed from the political geography of the region?" Shariatmadari wrote, asking Mr. Khatami to "repent" to God and "apologise to the oppressed and noble people of Iran".
In the U.S., Republican Senator Rick Santorum called Mr. Khatami "one of the chief propagandists of the Islamic fascist regime".
Also Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney criticised Mr Khatami's visit to Harvard, arguing that taxpayers should not be providing security to someone who "supports violent jihad".
Mr. Khatami defended the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, but he denied the U.S government’s claim that the Islamic Republic was providing the group with financial, diplomatic and military aid. In his speech to Harvard University students, Khatami expressed support for punishing Iranian homosexuals but said that the death penalty was extreme.
Although Mr. Khatami, who appreared more moderate than the current Iranian President, balanced his speech between criticism of U.S. policies and appreciation for the Bush administration's approval of his trip to the U.S., his visit left observers puzzled over whether the current tension between Iran and the U.S. would soon calm down.