By NAZILA FATHI Published: November 6, 2008
TEHRAN - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran sent an unusual letter congratulating President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday for his victory in the American presidential race, even though the two nations have had no diplomatic ties for nearly 30 years. Mr. Ahmadinejad has written letters to world leaders in the past, including one to President Bush. But this is the first time an Iranian leader has congratulated the winner of an American election, at least since the Iranian revolution. Diplomatic ties between Iran and the United States were severed in 1979, when radical students attacked the United States Embassy in Tehran and took American diplomats hostage. Iranian leaders continue to use hostile language toward the United States, and Mr. Ahmadinejad had said that he did not think a black candidate could be elected because of racial discrimination. "I congratulate you for attracting the majority of votes in the election," Mr. Ahmadinejad wrote in his message, an Iranian news agency, ISNA, reported. "As you know, opportunities that are bestowed upon humans are short lived," he wrote, adding that he hoped Mr. Obama would make the most of the opportunity. The delivery of the letter coincided with a move by the Bush administration to put more pressure on Iran by adding measures that prohibit financial institutions from helping Iranian banks, the government or others in the country, the Treasury Department said Thursday. Previously, American financial institutions were allowed to handle certain money transfers that might have directly or indirectly helped Iranian interests. But the action announced Thursday ended what the Treasury Department called "the last general entry point for Iranian banks." Still, exceptions will be granted in certain cases, like individual remittances and humanitarian aid. In his letter, Mr. Ahmadinejad said that people in America and around the world expected Mr. Obama to make major changes in domestic and foreign policy, and to limit American interference in other parts of the world. "People in the world expect war-oriented policies, occupation, bullying, deception and intimidation of nations and imposing discriminatory policies on them and international affairs, which have evoked hatred toward American leaders, to be replaced by ones advocating justice, respect for human rights, friendship and noninterference in other countries' affairs," the letter said, according to ISNA. "They also want the U.S. intervention to be limited to its borders, especially in the sensitive region of the Middle East," it said. "It is expected to reverse the unfair attitude of the past 60 years to restore the rights of people in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan." Mr. Obama has said that he would engage in aggressive diplomacy with Iran, and that he might offer economic incentives if Iran were more cooperative on issues like terrorism and nuclear development. His position has stirred concerns among some world leaders. The Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, expressed her concerns on Thursday after Mr. Obama's victory became clear, saying that he should not talk to Iran because it might send the wrong signal. "We live in a neighborhood in which sometimes dialogue - in a situation where you have brought sanctions and then switch to dialogue - is liable to be interpreted as weakness," Ms. Livni said in an interview on Israel Radio. Iran's foreign policy is decided by the supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It was not clear whether Mr. Ahmadinejad had the ayatollah's approval to send a message to Mr. Obama, but his letter to Mr. Bush raised speculation that Iran was trying to open a dialogue with the United States. Ethan Bronner contributed reporting from Jerusalem. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/world/middleeast/07iran.html?ref=po... --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Black Focus Inc." group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Black-Focus-Inc?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
