Iran: US failed to act on promises

IRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that the United States failed to act on its promise to establish better ties with the Islamic Republic, Iran’s satellite channel Press TV reported.

“The new (US) administration and president claimed interest in just and fair relations; they wrote letters and sent messages... saying they are willing to normalize relations with the Islamic Republic, but in practice they did the opposite,” Khamenei said in a New Year address to Iranians in the holy city of Mashhad.

The Iranian supreme leader also lashed out at the United States for supporting the unrest following Iran’s presidential election in June 2009, saying the enemies had plans to start a “civil war” in the country.

“They tried very much to divide the people but they failed... this was a victory for the nation,” Khamenei said. “Eight months after the election, they took the worst possible stance. The (U.S.) president called those rioters and saboteurs ‘civil rights activists’,” he added.

Khamenei said it was normal for Iran to have enemies as “it is supported by the nations around the world” and the United States, on the other hand, “is hated by the nations around the world for decades of aggression and invasion.”

Khamenei’s remarks came just one day after US President Barack Obama said that his administration still seeks dialogue with Iran over its nuclear issue but the Iranian government has chosen isolation.

Tehran, Monday, Xinhua