CAIRO — In the strongest indication yet that at least part of the Iranian leadership would like to turn a new page in relations with the United States, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on Sunday praised the "great" American people and called on U.S. politicians to catch up with changing times.
The remarks at a Tehran news conference followed an unusually positive statement directed toward Iran last week by State Department spokesman James Foley, who said the United States would "welcome and support the idea of an open dialogue between different cultures and civilizations."
The exchange hinted that Washington and Tehran may be preparing the ground for a fundamental shift away from the mutual hostility the two countries have demonstrated since Iran seized the U.S. Embassy in its capital in 1979 and held 52 diplomatic personnel hostage for 444 days.
In Washington, however, White House spokesman Barry Toiv played down the importance of Khatami's comments, saying the U.S. is less interested in softer rhetoric than in evidence that Iran's policies have changed.
"The United States is looking for deeds, not words," Toiv said. "Iran needs to stop the development of programs for weapons of mass destruction. It needs to stop supporting terrorism, and it needs to stop impeding the Middle East peace process. These are the actions the United States is looking for."
At the Tehran news conference, Khatami said: "I take this opportunity to pay my respects to the great American people, and hope to have a dialogue with the American people and about the United States in the not-too-distant future." The news conference was called three days after Iran's successful hosting of the worldwide Islamic summit, the largest gathering of foreign leaders ever held in the country.
Khatami--a reformer who has been compared in his country to former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev and even to Mahatma Gandhi--said he is seeking "a historical talk with the people of the United States," and did not rule out speaking to the U.S. government as well, saying "it is elected by the American people, and we respect that."
He criticized U.S. leaders, however, saying they "have fallen behind the times."
"The United States still imagines that it is the sole power, and that it must impose its will on the whole world at any cost," he said.
