Obama: The Iranians Rejected Extremism with Rohani's Election; They Want To Move in a Different Direction

American president Barack Obama said that the Iranians’ election of a moderate president is a sign that they want to move in a different direction, but he is not confident that the election will lead to a breakthrough in the confrontation over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

In an interview on Monday with Charlie Rose, an interviewer on American public television, Obama said that the United States and its allies were prepared to hold talks with Iran about its nuclear program as long as Tehran knows that international sanctions will not be lifted unless it proves that it is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Obama said, “As long as there’s an understanding about the basis of the conversation, then I think there’s no reason why we shouldn’t proceed.”

The United States considers the sudden victory of a moderate man of religion, Hassan Rouhani, to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a positive development, at least at first glance.

Obama said, “I think it says that the Iranian people want to move in a different direction. The Iranian people rebuffed the hardliners and the clerics in the election who were counseling no compromise on anything, anytime, anywhere. Clearly you have a hunger within Iran to engage with the international community in a more positive way.” However, Obama said, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is still the great leader of Iran, “so we’re going to have to continue to see how this develops and how this evolves over the next several weeks, months, years.”