Last updated at 9:57 AM on 20th March 2009
See Mr Obama's appeal to Iran here
President Barack Obama has issued an unprecedented videotaped appeal to Iran offering a 'new beginning'.
In a dramatic departure from George Bush's policy of isolation towards the country, Mr Obama issued a direct message to the Iranian people, hoping to turn the page on decades of U.S. policy towards the foe.
'My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties,' Mr Obama said in the message.
Barack Obama appeared on Jay Leno's Tonight Show last night, shortly before the video was released
He released it to select Middle East broadcast outlets timed for the Iranian holiday Nowruz, celebrating the arrival of spring - and on YouTube.
The two nations have had no diplomatic ties for 28 years.
Mr Obama's predecessor George Bush famously labelled Iran, along with Syria and North Korea, as part of the 'Axis of Evil'.
Mr Obama went further than he has since taking office on January 20 in extending an olive branch to Tehran, which has been locked in bitter disputes with Washington over Iranian nuclear ambitions and support for militant Islamic groups.
See Mr Obama's appeal to Iran here
The Obama administration has expressed an openness to face-to-face diplomatic contacts with Tehran.
Reaching out directly to Iranian leaders and their people, Mr Obama said: 'This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.'
He said the United States wanted Iran to take its 'rightful place in the community of nations,' but also insisted that Tehran do its part to achieve reconciliation.
'You have that right - but it comes with real responsibilities, and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization,' Mr Obama said.
'The measure of that greatness is not the capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and create,' he added, alluding to Iran's contested nuclear program and its missile development efforts.
To stress the seriousness of Mr Obama's overture, the White House distributed the videotape with Farsi subtitles and posted it on its website to coincide with Iranian observance of the ancient festival of Nowruz, celebrating the arrival of spring.
'I would like to speak directly to the people and leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran,' Mr Obama said in a conciliatory tone that contrasted sharply with Mr Bush's hardline approach. 'We seek the promise of a new beginning.'
Mr Obama's willingness to talk to U.S. enemies like Iran has been welcomed internationally as a departure from what many saw as Mr Bush's go-it-alone 'cowboy diplomacy' epitomized by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Though Mr Obama stopped short of specific offers, he said he was seeking 'a future with renewed exchanges among our people and greater opportunities for partnership and commerce.'
However, he acknowledged, 'This won't be reached easily.'
The United States is at loggerheads with Iran over its nuclear program, which Washington says is aimed at building atomic weapons, while Tehran insists it is for the peaceful generation of electricity.
Mr Obama has also insisted that Iran end support for groups the United States considers terrorist organizations and cease 'bellicose language' toward U.S. ally Israel.
The United States cut off diplomatic ties with Iran during the 1979-1981 hostage crisis, in which a group of militant Iranian students held 52 U.S. diplomats hostage at the American Embassy for 444 days.
Mr Obama has said the United States is prepared to extend a hand of peace to Iran if it 'unclenched its fist.' Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he is open to talks with Washington, but has demanded a fundamental change to U.S. policy in the Middle East.
In what was seen as an initial overture, the Obama administration said recently it would invite Tehran to an international conference on Afghanistan later this month. Iran has said it would consider the invitation.
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