Iran's parliament speaker has criticized U.S. President-elect Barack
Obama for saying Tehran's pursuit of nuclear weapons is unacceptable.
Iranian
state media (IRNA) quotes Ali Larijani as saying Mr. Obama's remark
signifies pursuit of what Larijani called the same "erroneous U.S.
policy of the past."
Larijani said the United States should send
appropriate signals to Middle Eastern countries if it wants to change
the situation in the region.
Mr. Obama referred to Iran's atomic
program on Friday in his first news conference since winning the U.S.
presidential election. He also said Iran's support for terrorist
groups must cease.
He also said he will review a letter of
congratulation sent to him by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and
respond appropriately.
The United States and its Western allies
accuse Iran of working to produce a nuclear weapon. Iran says its
atomic program is intended solely to generate electricity.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
