The United States called on Tuesday for talks with Iran after former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was elected as new chief of Iran's powerful Assembly of Experts.
"We would hope that reasonable individuals in Iran would see the positive opportunity given to it by the international community to enter negotiations and be able to achieve a peaceful nuclear program while still reassuring everyone else that it is not simply a cover for building a nuclear weapon," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters.
"I'd like to believe that there are individuals in the Iranian leadership that would want to take what is in effect a rather unique and important opportunity, to allow Iran to engage with the rest of the international community," Casey said.
Rafsanjani has been considered as a moderate leader of Iran as compared with the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The United States and Iran have held two rounds of ambassador- level talks on Iraqi security since May 28.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, who had talks with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Kazemi Qomi in July as "difficult discussions."
The United States has accused Iran of fueling violence in Iraq and supporting militants there. But Tehran always denies the allegations.
Washington has no diplomatic relations with Tehran since April 1980, five months after Iranian students occupied the American embassy in Tehran. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days.
Source: Xinhua
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