Mottaki: Iran welcomes US practical policy changes

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Tuesday that Iran welcomes change of tone in US administration.

Mottaki made the remark at a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari in Tehran on Tuesday.

Iran warmly welcomes practical change in the US approaches, he said.

“We have shown different reactions to US change of behaviors at different junctures and once we witness a practical change of policy in the new US administration we will welcome it,” he said.

“Since assuming office, the new US president has proposed new outlooks and we also witness changes in his literature which differ from his predecessor, but these words should be translated into action,” Mottaki said.

Referring to the issue of nuclear disarmament as well the issue of Afghanistan, he said “We expect to witness different attitudes in practice by the new US administration.”

The visiting Iraqi foreign minister, for his part, highlighted the remarks made by Iran's Supreme Leader in which he accused the US of harboring terrorism in Iraq's Kurdistan territory and said the Iraqi Kurds should not let any action be taken against neighboring states.

Any (military) action against neighboring states from Iraqi territory is condemned, he underlined.

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