Iran ready for visit of top U.N. rights official-IRNA

TEHRAN (Reuters) - An Iranian official confirmed on Wednesday that the top U.N. human rights official had been invited to make a rare visit to the Islamic Republic, the IRNA news agency reported.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who expressed concern about a crackdown on dissent in Iran after last year's disputed election, last month said she would pay a visit to the country next year.

There was no immediate comment from Iran, which regularly dismisses international criticism over its human rights record, on her April 24 statement in Abu Dhabi.

But IRNA said Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary-general of the Iranian High Council for Human Rights, raised the issue in a meeting with the Swiss ambassador to Tehran on Wednesday.

IRNA said Larijani confirmed that Iran had extended an invitation to Pillay and was ready for her to make a visit.

He denounced the West's "politically motivated human rights resolutions" and said Iran was ready to give an "efficient response" to allegations of rights violations.

In March, Pillay said she had talked with Iranian officials about the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran and suggested her office should visit the country.

Iran last month told other Asian delegations it had withdrawn its candidacy for a seat on the 47-nation U.N. Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, diplomats said. The bid had sparked criticism from human rights groups.

The U.N. General Assembly condemned Iran in December for a violent crackdown on protesters after the election, which Iran's opposition says was rigged.

Thousands of protesters were arrested after the vote. More than 80 people have been sentenced to jail terms of up to 15 years. Two people tried after the election have been executed.

The authorities deny the opposition's charge of vote rigging, portraying the post-election unrest as a foreign-backed bid to undermine the Islamic state's clerical establishment.

(Reporting by Ramin Mostafavi; writing by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Andrew Roche)