US eager to talk to Iran, whoever winner is

[joeblow]

US eager to talk to Iran, whoever winner is
Sat, 13 Jun 2009 05:26:13 GMT

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=9 ... =351020104


US President Barack Obama

The US will pursue dialogue with Iran whether incumbent President Ahmadinejad or his rival, Mir Hossein Mousavi, emerges as winner, a State Department official says.

"The president's decision to engage Iran was not based on a particular electoral result. We are going to engage the Iranian government whether it is led by one faction or the other," said a senior US State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity, before the partial results Of Iran's Presidential elections were announced.

Partial results announced by Iran's Interior Ministry demonstrate that Iran's incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears to be winning the election, with gaining 64.31 percent of the votes.

The latest figures show 94 percent of the ballots have been counted.

Former prime minister, Mir Hossein Mousavi, who had earlier claimed victory, has so far gained 32.57 percent of the vote.

"This is going to be hard and complex, regardless of who is elected president. There are a lot of different factions and mixed views on the idea of engaging the Great Satan," added the official, Reuters reported.

The Great Satan is a nickname for the United States of America used in Iran.

The US envoy to the UN whose country has been pursuing a double-edged policy of carrot and stick over Iran's nuclear activities said Friday that US policy on Iran and its nuclear program is not dependent on the results of the Iranian election.

"American policy with respect to Iran and its nuclear program is not dependent on which administration is governing Iran," Susan Rice told reporters. "Our view is that Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran, ought to not pursue its nuclear program, its nuclear weapons program and that will not change depending on the outcome of the election."

On Friday, US President Barack Obama expressed optimism that US diplomatic efforts to engage Iran would get a boost, no matter who wins in Iran's presidential election.

In an unprecedented turnout, nearly 36 million Iranians cast their votes on Friday, June 12, in the 10th presidential election.

MVZ/JG/DT