Tehran - In a first official reaction, Iran's Foreign
Minister Manouchehr Mottaki late Friday said he was studying an offer
by US President Barack Obama to open a new era in relations and put
old divisions aside.
In a video message to Iran on Nowruz, which is Iranian New Year,
Obama early Friday offered a new beginning, saying the
United States was committed to engagement, not threats, in its
pursuit of diplomacy.
Mottaki, whose comments were made in Afghanistan and were carried
by the official news agency Irna, showed a cool reaction.
'It is nice that Nowruz is used as an occasion for messages of
peace and friendship - but as far as other aspects (in the message)
are concerned, they are under evaluation,' Mottaki said.
Observers expected that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei will make a clear comment on the Obama message on Saturday,
in his annual Persian Nowruz speech in the religious city of Mashad
in north-eastern Iran.
Khamenei, in line with the constitution, has the final say on all
state affairs.
Obama made the remarks in a broadcast with Farsi subtitles by
Voice of America's Persian News Network, which is widely viewed by
satellite in Iran.
'My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses
the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties
among the United States, Iran, and the international community,'
Obama said.
The US president said it was Iran's choice whether it takes 'its
rightful place in the community of nations' - a place that 'cannot be
reached through terror or arms.'
Earlier Friday, presidential press advisor, Ali-Akbar Javanfekr,
who holds no official position, reacted coolly to the offer and
reiterated the stance of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the US
should change its policies in practice before approaching Iran after
three decades of diplomatic estrangement.
On a separate issue, Mottaki indicated that Iran would attend the
Afghanistan conference March 31 in The Hague.
'Iran has constantly played a positive and constructive role in
aiding Afghanistan, and Iran's policy has always been playing a part
in reaching solutions for Afghanistan,' Mottaki said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last week that
it was expected that Iran would be invited to the conference.
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