Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the United States a "great" nation today in a sharp reversal from his predecessors and expressed hope that at the very least the two governments can stop the escalation of tensions.
Wrapping up his first trip to the United States as Iran's new leader, Rouhani said President Barack Obama struck a new tone in his UN speech this week, which he welcomed.
He said he believes the first step to a meeting between the two leaders was taken Thursday at a meeting on Iran's nuclear programme, where the foreign ministers of both nations talked for the first time in six years.
"I want it to be the case that this trip will be a first step, and a beginning for better and constructive relations with countries of the world as well as a first step for a better relationship between the two great nations of Iran and the United States of America," Rouhani told a press conference at a hotel near UN headquarters.
He expressed hope that "the views of our people, the understanding of each other, will grow, and at the level of the two governments that at the very least we can as a first step stop further escalation of tensions and then reduce tension as a next step and then pave the way for achieving of mutual interests."
Rouhani was upbeat about his four-day visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly's ministerial session, reeling off a long list of leaders he met and saying "I believe that our success was greater than our expectation, especially with the European countries ... And I think that the path really has been paved to expand relations in various centers, key world economies."
Iran's economy has been hit hard by four rounds of UN sanctions for its failure to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make fuel for both nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. The US and its allies have taken even more devastating measures targeting Iran's ability to conduct international bank transfers and to export oil.
Rouhani said he has a mandate from the Iranian people, who opposed "extremism" and voted for "moderation." He said this has created a "new environment" that could pave the way for better relations with the West.
He said Iran would put forth a proposal at talks in Geneva on October 15-16 aimed at resolving the standoff over his country's nuclear programme and easing international sanctions, and he expressed hope that "within a very short time" the nuclear issue will be resolved and relations with the West will improve.
