His visit followed one earlier in the day by the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who spent three hours in the town where some 30,000 people are believed to have died in Friday's devastating quake.

Khatami, who was wearing a clerical grey tunic, acknowledged on arrival that "the scale of the tragedy is very high".

"Whatever we do, it will still be too little," he said. "Hopefully, as time goes by more aid will arrive."

He first flew over the city aboard a M-18 helicopter to get an overview of the damage before touring the town.

Khatami was joined in Bam by some 10 ministers, some of whom had arrived shortly after the quake struck early Friday.

Earlier, Khamenei, accompagnied by dozens of bodyguards, also toured the centre of town and its 2,000-year-old citadel which was flattened by the quake.

"We share your pain, we have lost our own children, we are going to try to rebuild Bam, but this time more solidly," Khamenei told survivors.

Looting was reported in town on Sunday, but by Monday large numbers of police and soldiers patrolled the streets and outsiders were prevented from entering Bam without authorization.

TERRA.WIRE