11/4/2009 4:18 AM
ET
(RTTNews) -
President Barack Obama said Wednesday the United States sought a relationship with Iran based on mutual interests and respect; also, he wanted both countries to move beyond the "path of sustained suspicion, mistrust and confrontation."
In a statement marking the 30th anniversary of the seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran by a group of Islamist students and militants during which 53 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4 of 1979, he said it was time for the Iranian government to decide whether it wanted to focus on the past, or whether it would make the choices that would "open the door to greater opportunity, prosperity and justice for its people."
Although the hostage crisis resulted in the two countries snapping diplomatic ties and the continuing mistrust, suspicion and confrontation, the President said his administration wanted to move beyond this past, as it sought a relationship with Iran based on mutual respect and interests. He made it clear that the U.S. had no interest in interfering in the internal affairs of that Islamic country.
"Iran must choose. We have heard for 30 years what the Iranian government is against; the question, now, is: what kind of future it is for," he said, adding if Tehran lived up to the obligations that every nation had, it would have a path to a more prosperous and productive relationship with the international community.
America and its western allies allege that Iran is pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program, while the latter insists its nuclear program is a peaceful drive to produce electricity so that the world's fourth-largest crude exporter can sell more of its oil and gas abroad.
by RTT Staff Writer
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