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Ahmadinejad: Iran ready for talk with U.S. based on 'mutual respect'
By News Agencies
Tags: israel news, hamas 

Iran's hard-line president said Tuesday that his country was prepared talks with the United States - as long as mutual respect is exercises between the longtime adversaries. This was Tehran's strongest signal yet of welcoming new U.S. President Barack Obama's calls for dialogue.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the comments in a speech to hundreds of thousands celebrating the 30th anniversary of Iran's Islamic revolution, which ousted the U.S.-backed shah and installed rule by hard-line Muslim clerics - the event that put Iran and the U.S. on a track to a collapse in relations and years of enmity.

A day earlier, Obama said his administration was looking foropportunities to engage Iran and pledged to rethink Washington's relationship with Tehran.
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Since Obama's election, Iranian leaders have struck a cautious tone over his campaign promises to open a dialogue with Tehran, giving signs that the government was undecided on how to respond. But Ahmadinejad said directly that Iran is prepared to talk and even cited possible areas for discussion - terrorism, the elimination of nuclear weapons, restructuring the U.N. Security Council and fighting drug trafficking.

"The Iranian nation is ready for talks (with the U.S.), but in a fair atmosphere with mutual respect," Ahmadinejad told the crowds in Tehran's Freedom Square.

But Ahmadinejad also declared that Iran is now a superpower - pointing to the recent launching of the first locally-made satellite into space - and made clear it expects to be treated as an equal.

"If you really want to fight terrorism, come and cooperate with the Iranian nation, which is the biggest victim of terrorism so that terrorism is eliminated. ... If you want to confront nuclear weapons ... you need to stand beside Iran so it can introduce a correct path to you," he said.

In a show of national pride, a model of the new satellite and the rocket that launched stood among the flag-waving crowds at the rally. As usual at such gatherings, there were chants of Death to America, along with the burning of U.S. and Israeli flags. But the chanting stopped as Ahmadinejad spoke of dialogue with the United States, and the firebrand president refrained from the denunciations of America that often mark his speeches. State television
showed similar rallies in cities across Iran, saying millions of people turned out for the celebrations.

Ahmadinejad's speech also comes as he enters a campaign for second term in a June election - and he could face a tough fight after Iran's top reformist politician, former President Mohammad Khatami, entered the race over the weekend. Khatami has supported improving ties with the West.

Tehran and Washington severed relations nearly three decades ago after the 1979 Iranian revolution and the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by hard-line Iranian students.

But relations deteriorated even further after the Sept. 11 attacks when former President George W. Bush declared Iran belonged to an axis of evil. Ahmadinejad widened that gap after he was elected in 2005 and defied the U.S. and its allies by pursuing Iran's controversial nuclear program.

The U.S. believes Iran is secretly trying to pursue nuclear weapons, but Iran has denied this accusation, saying its program is solely for peaceful purposes such as electricity.

So far, it has been unclear what Iran and the United States would talk about in any renewed dialogue. Years of negotiations between Tehran and Europe over its nuclear program have so far failed to make any breakthroughs, with Iran repeatedly rejecting U.S. and European economic incentives to suspend parts of its program and brushing off UN sanctions.

But Washington and Tehran did cooperate closely in the 2001 ousting of Afghanistan's Taliban - before Bush's axis of evil speech. The Bush administration also held direct talks with Iran on stabilizing Iraq, and the U.S. military later reported a reduction in Iran's arming of Shiite militias in the country.

Tehran has always denied arming the militias. Iranian political analyst Davoud Hermidas Bavand said talks on stabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan are good topics to start with. That may open the way for talks on Iran's nuclear program and Iranian concerns about U.S. Mideast
policy, he said.

Iran accuses the United States of seeking to dominate the region. Washington in turn accuses Iran of using its militant allies like Hamas and Hezbollah to stir up trouble in the Middle East.

But Bavand warned against expecting a quick detente. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - who holds ultimate political authority - must approve any restoring of ties with the United States, he said, and there is no sign that the ruling establishment is willing to give up animosity toward Washington.

Still, Ahmadinejad would likely not give such a public welcome to dialogue without Khamenei's approval, suggesting the top leadership has decided at least to sound out Obama's intentions.

Obama said Monday that his national security team was reviewing its existing Iran policy and looking at areas where we can have constructive dialogue. He said he expected that his administration would be looking for openings where Washington and Tehran can sit face-to-face.

Ahmadinejad repeated demands that Washington must make fundamental changes in policy, moving away from what Tehran calls attempts at domination - like the Bush administration's war in Iraq, push for sanctions against Iran and support for Israel.

"The world is entering an era of dialogue and intellect," Ahmadinejad said. "The world does not want to see the dark age of Bush repeated.
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  1.   Opportunity 07:27  |  Matthew Houston 10/02/09
  2.   WATCH YOUR BACK OBAMA 07:37  |  indrajaya 10/02/09
  3.   Be patient. Nothing will happen until after Iranian elections 09:22  |  binny 10/02/09
  4.   BRAVO! 10:40  |  New Yorka 10/02/09
  5.   Most constructive, engaging step toward Iran: Embrace Saudi Plan 10:59  |  Ivar 10/02/09
  6.   INDRAJAYA Obama promised this before he got elected 11:17  |  PETER SM 10/02/09
  7.   BINNY Iranian elections?Know any other good oxymorons 11:19  |  PETER SM 10/02/09
  8.   No worries ... 11:56  |  American 10/02/09
  9.   Most constructive US step to engage Iran: Embrace Saudi Plan 12:28  |  Ivar 10/02/09
  10.   Would Obama concede a nuclear armed Iran? 12:34  |  Natallie Durson 10/02/09
  11.   AHMADINEJAD, YOUR RELIGIOUS REGIME IS NOT ENDANGERED BY OBAMA... 12:43  |  MOSHEH 10/02/09
  12.   # 6, PETER SM 12:57  |  indrajaya 10/02/09
  13.   IRAN 13:01  |  CONCERNED 10/02/09
  14.   IVAR US/Iranian problems go back to the cold war 13:23  |  PETER SM 10/02/09
  15.   AMERICAN Why did the USA go to war to protect Kuwait? 13:30  |  PETER SM 10/02/09
  16.   INDRAJAYA where do you think talks are supposed to lead to? 14:24  |  PETER SM 10/02/09
  17.   Obama`s Reply To Helen Thomas` Question 14:27  |  Jeff Northridge 10/02/09
  18.   Fair atmosphere and mutual respect 15:07  |  allang 10/02/09
  19.   Reading #8 "American" 15:28  |  S 10/02/09
  20.   to #11 15:33  |  Danny 10/02/09
  21.   PETER SM, don`t confuse the issue. 17:16  |  ManintheMiddle 10/02/09
  22.   Dialogue. What a splendid idea. 17:35  |  Lou Medel 10/02/09
  23.   DANNY#20, STATING THAT ISRAEL IS NOT FAR OFF FROM THE MOLLAHS... 18:37  |  MOSHEH 10/02/09
  24.   NATALLIE#10, THE REAL QUESTION IS "WOULD OBAMA CONCEDE..." 18:57  |  MOSHEH 10/02/09
  25.   Allan G, Fair Is Fair 19:01  |  Persian Kitty 10/02/09
  26.   Excellent idea! 19:12  |  Silvienne 10/02/09
  27.   Stalling For Time 19:17  |  Peter 10/02/09
  28.   Respect has to be earned 10:30  |  sWeis Melbourne 12/02/09
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