UNITED NATIONS, Nov 6: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan dropped his plan to visit Iran this month as he heads out for a five-nation tour this weekend to the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan, a UN spokesman said on Saturday.

“The Secretary-General and the Iranian government have mutually agreed that this is not an appropriate time for him to travel to Iran,” said spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

The UN chief was under pressure from the Bush administration and US lawmakers to drop his visit following statement by the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, threatening to “wipe Israel off the map.”

Mr Annan spoke out against remarks attributed to President Ahmadinejad. At the time, Mr Dujarric said the Secretary-General would use his visit to focus on the Middle East peace process, and the right of all states in the area to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries. The spokesman said: “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.”