In Nowruz video, Obama reaches out to Iran, looks for engagement

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US President Barack Obama on Friday told Iran's people and leaders that the United States wants to engage with their country and end decades of strained relationship, but not unless their officials stop making threats. In a video message with Farsi subtitles, timed to the festival of Nowruz, a major holiday in Iran, Obama urged the two countries to resolve their long-standing differences. "So in this season of new beginnings I would like to speak clearly to Iran's leaders," Obama said in the video. "The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations... and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization," the US president said.