THE JERUSALEM POST: Tehran, Iran – Iran's parliament speaker said his country has doubts that US President Barack Obama's Middle East policy will be different from the Bush administration, state television reported Sunday.
Speaker Ali Larijani said Obama's stance on the crisis in Gaza and the United States' support for Israel have "created many doubts about the 'change' theory."
He also cautioned that Obama's actions on Iran's disputed nuclear program would be "another test for the change word" used by the new president during his campaign.
The more critical comments came days after Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki struck a moderate tone after Obama's inauguration. "We are ready for new approaches by the United States," he had said Wednesday.
But Larijani's more skeptical words come after Obama made his first comments on the recent Gaza conflict since taking office on Tuesday. Obama struck themes familiar with Bush over the Gaza crisis, including supporting Israel's right to defend itself, criticizing rocket attacks by Hamas, lamenting civilian deaths in Gaza and favoring an international effort to develop a durable cease-fire.
One Iranian hardline newspaper, Jomhuri Eslami, criticized Obama in its editorial on Sunday.
"Obama took a negative and disappointing stance on Palestine," the editorial said in response to Obama's comments on Gaza. >>> Associated Press | Sunday, January 25, 2009
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