Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi has called on the new administration of President-elect George W. Bush to change US policies towards Iran, the governmental Iran Daily newspaper said Saturday.
"The time is ripe for the new US government to revise its policies towards Iran," Kharazi said in a reaction to the election victory of Bush following weeks of controversial debate over vote counts.
"We still have to wait and see what policies and strategies the new administration tends to adopt," towards Iran, Kharazi said.
In recent days several Iranian officials have called on the new administration to ride the tide of change in Washington and improve relations with Tehran.
Relations between Washington and Tehran have been broken since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the shah in favor of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The United States have sought to improve ties with Iran following the 1997 election of President Mohammad Khatami, who was seen by Washington as a leader who would introduce sweeping reforms in the country.
But efforts to open a dialogue with Iran have not succeeded.
An influential Iranian conservative said in early December that a Republican victory in the US elections was "preferable" for Tehran, with prospects for a possible lifting of US oil sanctions.
"If Bush wins, it will be certain that oil companies will have more liberty to conclude contracts with Iran. It is preferable for us, and it is (even) possible that oil sanctions against Iran will be lifted," said Mohammad-Javad Larijani.
The United States impose oil sanction on Iran, but eased an embargo on non-oil products in April.
Larijani also expected a "small change in US policies" towards the Middle East because the Democrats are "much closer to the Zionist lobby."
Tehran will re-establish its relations with Washington as soon as "the US government takes sufficient distance from Israel," he said -- TEHRAN (AFP)
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