Obama's offer to talk shows US failure: Iran

Published: February 01, 2009

TOKYO (AFP) - Iran is monitoring US foreign policy in countries such as Afghanistan to see if improved ties under President Barack Obama might be possible, its Foreign Minister told Japanese media.
Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran welcomed Obama’s emphasis on dialogue but added that his government would need more detail on US intentions abroad before reviewing Tehran’s relationship with Washington.
“Now we are studying what (are) the practical policies of the US, towards Afghanistan, for example,” Iranian FM Manouchehr Mottaki said in an interview with Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, aired on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Iranian government spokesman said on Saturday Obama’s offer to talk to Iran shows that America’s policy of “domination” has failed. “This request means Western ideology has become passive, that capitalist thought and the system of domination have failed,” Gholam Hossein Elham was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency. “Negotiation is secondary, the main issue is that there is no way but for (the US) to change,” he added.
After nearly three decades of severed ties, Obama said shortly after taking office this month that he is willing to extend a diplomatic hand to Tehran if the Islamic republic is ready to “unclench its fist.” In response, Ahmadinejad launched a fresh tirade against the US, demanding an apology for its “crimes” against Iran and saying he expected “deep and fundamental” change from Obama.