Just days after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that the “countdown to the destruction of Israel has begun,” Iranian government officials cordially invited Israelis to visit their country.

During a recent international tourism conference in Berlin, a representative of the Israeli culture and tourism television program “The Good Life” said he was shocked when high-level officials from the Iranian Ministry of Tourism singled him out and treated him to a very warm reception.

Sharon Lamberger told Israel's Ma'ariv daily newspaper that as the encounter drew to a close, the Iranians said they would very much like for Israeli tourists to come to Iran.

Israel and Iran had friendly relations prior to the Islamic Revolution and the overthrow of the shah by the ayatollahs. Many in Iran still remember those days, and are ready to reconnect with the Jewish state.

Lamberger said he hopes to use the information and material provided by his new Iranian friends to prepare Israelis for the day they are able to visit and explore the Persian homeland.