A delegation of high-level University of California, Davis, officials and a prominent Sacramento businessman are preparing for a trip to Iran this month, an effort by the university to forge academic and cultural ties with the Middle Eastern nation.

UC Davis Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef will be joined by four other university officials for the journey April 25 through May 1, among them the deans of agricultural sciences and engineering.

Mohammad Mohanna, a Sacramento real estate developer and naturalized citizen from Iran, has been a liaison in the effort and also will participate.

The trip represents the university's first official visit to Iran since the country's 1979 revolution, when the shah was overthrown and replaced by an Islamic regime.

Though the participants acknowledge that the trip poses risks, especially at a time of heightened tensions in the region and war in neighboring Iraq, they believe it could create important opportunities for both UC Davis and the University of Tehran, which is hosting their visit.

Vanderhoef and Mohanna, who sits on the UC Davis Foundation Board, said the trip may help foster faculty and student exchanges and collaborative research projects.

"If this works like it has worked in our other interactions with different countries, this first (trip) is to explore different ideas, and it will be a broadly ranging conversation about things that might or might not be possible," Vanderhoef said.

In addition to Vanderhoef and Mohanna, other participants include Vice Provost William Lacy; Neal Van Alfen, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Enrique Lavernia, dean of the College of Engineering; and Robert Kerr, director of the international visitors and alumni program.

Lavernia said he envisions discussing topics such as biomedical engineering, environmental engineering and computer science with Iranian scholars.

"I'd like to use this opportunity to ... get a sense of how active they are in some of these areas and perhaps spike their interest in some of these technical areas that are upcoming around the world," he said.

The origins of the trip reach back to 2000, when the then-head of the Iranian university made overtures to visit UC Davis, expressing particular interest in the school's agricultural expertise.

"It's always the concern: How can we grow the food we need to feed our country? ... How can we grow crops in places where we couldn't grow them before?" Vanderhoef said. "They are interested in the same things that we are interested in, which is growing more food with the resources they have."

In 2002, shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Iranian university president attempted to come here but was denied a visa.

Last year, UC Davis officials received a formal invitation from leaders at the University of Tehran to visit them.

UC Davis is paying approximately $12,500 in airfare costs for the five university officials. Mohanna is paying his own way.

Expenses in Iran for the UC officials will be covered by the University of Tehran, Vanderhoef said.

In order to visit Iran, the travelers had to obtain visas from the Iranian government authorizing a seven-day stay.

They also consulted the U.S. State Department. "They said, 'OK. Be cautious, but OK,' " the chancellor said.

Though the United States doesn't maintain diplomatic or consular relations with Iran, it does not prohibit American citizens from visiting the country.

In its written travel warning for the country, the State Department does warn Americans to "consider carefully the risks of travel to Iran."

Among those are continuing bloodshed in Iraq and sometimes-volatile demonstrations within Iran.

There is no U.S. Embassy in Iran, but American citizens who encounter difficulties can obtain some assistance from the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, said Kelly Shannon, spokeswoman for the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs.

"Our ability to provide consular services to U.S. citizens is extremely limited," she said. "For example, if a U.S. citizen were jailed, they (Swiss officials) could possibly get permission from Iranians to visit the citizens in jail, but there is no guarantee."

It's not clear how often high-ranking UC officials visit countries that don't have diplomatic relations with the United States, said UC Office of the President spokesman Hanan Eisenman.

"It's not something we track," he said. "I haven't heard of any trips to Iran."

Advance permission from the president's office is required only when high-level administrators travel outside the country for more than a month.

Vanderhoef said the group is concerned about safety and will monitor the situation in the Middle East.

"At this point, it's a go," Vanderhoef said.

Still, a few glitches remain.

For one, it's not clear whether the university's insurance carrier covers travel to Iran, Kerr said.

Also, the U.S. government requires groups to obtain a license, in some circumstances, allowing the exchange of information with certain countries, including Iran. The travelers are trying to determine whether they have to obtain one, and if so, whether the process can be expedited.

Mohanna believes that once the hurdles are overcome, the group will be warmly welcomed by Iranians and university officials. The group also will meet with UC Davis alumni there.

He said benefits from the trip will be more than academic.

"We want to break bread with the Iranians and people at the University of Tehran," he said. "It will overcome the stereotypes, misunderstandings and misgivings we have about each other."