Farrakhan to Visit Iraq on World Tour

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan plans to leave today on a 52-nation tour that includes stops in Iraq, Iran, China and Cuba. He said he also has been invited by Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to visit but does not know if the Israeli government will grant him a visa. Farrakhan said he hoped his trip will promote peace between the United States and Iraq and planned to file a report to the White House at the end of it. But U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson, on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said Farrakhan’s visit would be “unhelpful” and illegal under a U.S. ban on American citizens going to Iraq.