Ahmadinejad urges Obama to apologize for 'crimes'

Jan. 28 -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the change promised by Barack Obama during his presidential campaign means he must apologize for U.S. "crimes" against Iran, including American support for a 1953 coup and the backing of Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war.

"We welcome change if it's fundamental and in the right direction," Ahmadinejad said Wednesday in a speech televised from the western province of Kermanshah. "Real change is change in the tone of talks with people, to enter from the door of respect, and not to pursue expansion and imperialism."

Obama may be dealing with Ahmadinejad for years to come. The Iranian president, a former mayor of Tehran and governor of the northern Ardebil province, will run for re-election June 12, his press adviser, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, announced Wednesday. He took office in 2005.

Obama has shifted U.S. policy on Iran and pledged in his first television interview as president, to Dubai-based al-Arabiya, to reach out to the Muslim world. He "supports tough and direct diplomacy with Iran without preconditions," and will "use the power of American diplomacy to pressure Iran to stop their illicit nuclear program, support for terrorism, and threats toward Israel," according to a White House statement.

The Bush administration ruled out talks with Iran unless the country ended uranium enrichment work within its nuclear program, which the U.S. alleges is aimed at making an atomic bomb. Iran maintains the work is peaceful and intended to generate electricity for a growing population.

Obama underlined in the Jan. 26 al-Arabiya interview the importance of engaging with Iranian leaders and expressing "very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress." He hasn't specified which leaders the U.S. may engage in talks.

"If countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us," Obama told the Arabic- language network.

Political analyst Amir Mohebian, an editor at Resalat, an Iranian newspaper close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, suggested Obama address a letter to Khamenei, the highest power of the cleric-controlled nation, calling for a revision of ties between the two nations.

"Claiming respect for Iran is not sufficient," he said in a telephone interview in Tehran. "The U.S. needs to establish the base for a climate of trust. The U.S. needs to consider the Islamic regime as a reality instead of aiming to overthrow it."