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Bad Blood Between Iran, US Blocks Resumption of Ties
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has stressed that Iran does not seek tension with the United States, but the "bad blood" between the two countries must be removed before they can resume relations.
There is a "deep-rooted bad blood" between the two countries which must be accounted for, Khatami said in his response to a letter received from a young girl student, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported Saturday.
Khatami pointed out that the detente policy he has initiated since 1997 is a policy toward all countries, including the United States, with which Iran severed ties in 1980 following the 1979 Islamic revolution and the hostage taking in the former US embassy in Tehran.
"We never welcome tensions and any face-offs between Iran and the United States. However, Americans pursue certain interests to their own advantage which happen not to be in conformity with our interests," the reform-minded president added.
Azadeh Pazouki, the young student, said in her letter that she is very much concerned about the country's development and its relations with the United States.
She also asked Khatami why he did not agree to talk to US President Bill Clinton when he attended the United Nations millenium summit in New York in September, the report said.
"I hope success for my dear girl Azadeh Pazouki and am proud to see our dear Iran has such conscious, sensitive and interested children who feel responsible for the country's fate," Khatami was quoted as saying in his response.
He said Iran-US ties have a long history and the hatred between the two countries has deep roots. If the bad blood is not removed, it "will cost the two countries and their nations highly no matter what decisions are made," he added.
There have been some good signs for the two countries' relations since Khatami took office in 1997. But Washington still keeps its economic sanctions and accuses Tehran of sponsoring international terrorism and attempting to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
Following the victory of Republican Gorge W. Bush in the US presidential election, Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi has called for the new US government to change its long-time hostile policy toward Iran.
If that happens, Iran will also adjust its policy toward the United States, Kharrazi said earlier this month in a comment to the Bush victory.
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