Special Report: U.S. presidential election 2008
by Che Ling
TEHRAN, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Senior Iranian officials Wednesday made comments on the result of U.S. presidential election, saying that the victory of Democratic candidate Senator Barak Obama is a sign of failure of President George W. Bush.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that Obama's election as the U.S. president shows the Americans demand for essential changes, the official IRNA news agency reported.
The U.S. people demand essential changes in both the country's domestic and foreign policies, Mottaki was quoted as saying.
The new U.S. government should recognize the Americans' demand to distance itself from the wrong approaches of the current U.S. administration, he added.
Iran's Majlis (Parliament) First Vice-Speaker, Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard made similar remarks while talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Majlis formal session.
The victory of Obama who is a Democrat, was a sign of failure of the Republicans, Aboutorabi-Fard said.
He urged Obama to take lessons from the failed and wrong policies of George W. Bush in the Middle East and adopt correct policy toward the Middle East.
Such amendments to the U.S. approach can play a key role in the future of relations between the United States and Asia as a whole, and the Middle East in particular, Aboutorabi-Fard was quoted by IRNA as saying.
"If Washington adopts appropriate policies with due attention to the global realities, it can improve its relations with the regional countries and the Muslim world," he said.
The U.S. policies such as wrong approach towards Iran's peaceful nuclear program, unconditional support for Israel and invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq resulted in the U.S. isolation from the international community, he added.
A senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei also considered Obama's victory in U.S. presidential election as a token of failure of the Bush administration.
"The American people have to change their policies in order to get rid of the quagmire made by President Bush for them," Haddad Adel, former Iranian Majlis (Parliament) Speaker was quoted by IRNA as saying.
"The next U.S. president should abandon the course taken by President Bush so far," he added.
The Democrat candidate Obama won U.S. presidential elections Wednesday against his Republican adversary John McCain.
The United States and its allies have accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
The Bush administration said it focused on diplomacy to try to resolve Iran's nuclear issue, but insisted it will take "no option off the table."
Some observers believe that it is possible that the United States and Israel would attack Iranian targets for Tehran's suspicious nuclear program.
During his campaign in August, Obama called for enhancing diplomatic pressures on Iran before Israel feels "cornered," saying that he is committed to "tightening the screws diplomatically on Iran" once elected as president, before Israel feels that "its back is against the wall."
In his first debate with McCain, Obama said the United States had to enter tough direct talks with the Iranians as attempts to isolate Tehran only speed up its progress toward nuclearization.
