Iranian relations with the United States will remain tense until Washington revises its attitude towards Teheran, the official representative of the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday according to ISNA news agency.
Relations between the two countries have been tense since supporters of the founder of the Iranian Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeini stormed the U.S. Embassy in Teheran in 1979, seizing 52 hostages and holding them captive for 444 days.
The United States and other Western powers suspect Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons under the guise of its nuclear program, which Tehran says is aimed at the peaceful generation of civilian energy.
"The roots of all problems between Iran and the United States should be thoroughly examined and the U.S. government should recognize that Washington has taken actions against our [Iranian] national interests," Ramin Mehmanparast said.
In March U.S. President Barack Obama said Iran had chosen to isolate itself, despite U.S. proposals to re-set relations. He said the United States was ready to begin talks with Iran, and that Teheran should make efforts to comply with international nuclear requirements.
International pressure on Iran increased in early February when Tehran announced it had begun enriching uranium to 20 percent in lieu of an agreement on an exchange that would provide it with fuel for a research reactor.
In June, the UN Security Council passed a resolution imposing a fourth set of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
Iran currently has some 2.8 metric tons of low enriched uranium and 22 kilograms of 20 percent enriched uranium, according to the latest IAEA report. Experts say that these 22 kilograms are already enough to produce a nuclear bomb.
MOSCOW, September 21 (RIA Novosti)
