Anti-terrorist diplomacy moves up a gear

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was today setting off on a groundbreaking visit to Iran as part of the effort to underpin the coalition against terrorism being developed following the airliner attacks on America.

The trip to Tehran, the first by a British foreign secretary since the Islamic revolution there in 1979, was part of a four-day trip to the Middle East including visits to Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Egypt.