TEHRAN, March 16: The Iranian parliament is ready to evaluate an invitation to Washington by the United States Senate, the students’ news agency ISNA reported on Saturday.

If the American lawmakers prove in practice that they are willing to review their hostile stance towards Iran and accept mutual respect, then the proposal could well be evaluated, Elaheh Kulaie, spokeswoman for the parliamentary foreign policy commission, said.

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden said on Wednesday that he was prepared to receive members of the parliament in Washington or in a neutral country for discussing the latest disputes.

Biden’s proposal showed that there are also efforts in the US. to guarantee national interests and get out of the Jewish lobby influence, Kulaie, a reformist and aide to President Mohammad Khatami, said.

Also the foreign ministry had proposed earlier this week that Iran increase its contacts with non-governmental sources in the U.S. for neutralizing the Jewish lobby which Iran accuses of having a strong influence on the White House with regards to its Iran policies.

Some American intellectuals were interested in ending the tensions between Iran and the US and Iran should also distinguish between the U.S. government and American people and other institutions, Kulaie added.

Khatami, during his visits to Austria and Greece, this week stressed Iran’s readiness to talk to the U.S. government to defuse the tensions.

Khatami, however, again deplored President George W. Bush’s remarks that Iran - together with Iraq and North Korea - are an “axis of evil”, saying Iran was interested in global peace rather than military confrontation.

Iran and the U.S. have had no diplomatic ties for over two decades and ties soured further recently after Bush’s remarks which triggered speculation that the U.S. is preparing to expand its “campaign against terrorism”, possibly against Iran and Iraq.

Tensions mounted further after press reports quoting a classified Pentagon file on contingency plans to use nuclear weapons against seven countries, including Iran.—dpa