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Mousavi vows to change IranŽs ŽextremistŽ image
[Beirut Daily Star: Region] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's main moderate challenger at the June presidential vote said Monday he would adopt a conciliatory foreign policy toward the West unlike his "extremist" opponent. Prime minister during Iran's 1980-88 war with Iraq, Mir Hossein Mousavi, 67, is seriously considered by many moderates and even some conservatives as their main presidential candidate and a strong rival to Ahmadinejad in the contest."Our country was harmed because of extremist policies adopted in the last three years ... My foreign policy with all countries will be one of detente," Mousavi said at his first news conference since announcing his candidacy. "We should try to gain the international community's trust while preserving our national interests." Ahmadinejad's critics say his fiery speeches against the West have exacerbated a dispute over Iran's nuclear program, which the West says is a front to covertly build nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge. US-Iran tensions have worsened since the 2005 election of Ahmadinejad, who questioned the Holocaust and called for Israel to be wiped off the map. When asked about his views regarding the Holocaust, Mousavi said: "Killing innocent people is condemned. The way the issue [Holocaust] was put forward [by Ahmadinejad] was incorrect." "Of course the question could be ... why Palestinians should be punished for a crime committed by Germans?" Mousavi's conciliatory tone followed an overture by US President Barack Obama toward the Islamic Republic. Obama has offered a new US approach to Iran, which has not had relations with Washington for three decades, saying he would extend a hand of peace if Iran would "unclench its fist." Iran says Washington must show real policy change toward Iran rather than in words. While repeatedly stressing his belief in following the guidelines of Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini, the late founder of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Mousavi said Iran had no intention to continue decades of hostility. "If America practically changes its Iran policy then we will surely hold talks with them," Mousavi said. Obama on Sunday presented Iran with a "clear choice" of halting its nuclear and missile activity or facing increased isolation. Tehran has repeatedly rejected international demands to stop its most sensitive nuclear work. "Iran will never abandon its nuclear right. We have no right to do it," Mousavi said. Mousavi, who defended Iran's state-controlled economy when prime minister, said high inflation and unemployment were among major issues that had to be tackled and that more liberalization of the economy was needed. "At that time Iran was at war ... Now we need privatization, creation of jobs and ... foreign investment," said Mousavi. Posted by: Fred 2009-04-07 |
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