Obama tells Iran to seek new links with U.S., world

By Bloomberg News

President Barack Obama urged Iran to opt for peace over "terror or arms," forging diplomatic ties with the world, and an adviser to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad responded that the United States should lift sanctions.

"We have serious differences that have grown over time," Obama told Iran's leaders in a video message released by the administration Friday. "My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community."

Obama, who campaigned on a pledge to seek engagement with U.S. foes, said the effort to re-establish relations won't be "advanced by threats."

The U.S. broke diplomatic ties with Iran almost three decades ago after Iranian militants held 52 Americans hostage in Tehran for 444 days.

Ali Akbar Javanfekr, media adviser to Ahmadinejad said Obama must lift the sanctions imposed on Iran for pursuing its nuclear program. He also said the U.S. must admit past mistakes, such as support for Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime during the 1980-88 war with Iran, the 1988 downing of an Iranian airliner by the U.S. Navy in the Strait of Hormuz and support for a 1953 coup in Tehran to ensure oil supplies to the West.

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