U.S. Voters Want Change, Iranian Minister Tells Press

UPPLANDS VASBY, Sweden — Iran thinks American voters have had it with the Bush administration's foreign policy and says the current election campaign is proof.

President Bush and his top aides may sneer and try to isolate Iran but the Islamic Republic is waiting to see how their successors approach the world, particularly the Middle East, the foreign minister of Iran, Manouchehr Mottaki, said yesterday.

"What is very clear in the United States is that everybody is looking for changes. That is very important," he said on the sidelines of an international conference on Iraq. Mr. Bush accuses Iran of supporting terrorists in the country.

"The foreign policy of the United States will affect this presidential election in the United States and that's why all the candidates are trying to say something new to public opinion," Mr. Mottaki said.

The Bush administration has adopted a hardline approach to Iran over Iraq and other issues, notably its nuclear program, its alleged support for terrorist groups, and its hostility toward Israel, which President Ahmadinejad of Iran has said should be wiped off the map.

Mr. Mottaki's comments came in an impromptu corridor encounter with a small group of Washington-based reporters who accompanied Secretary of State Rice to the Iraq conference outside the Swedish capital.

He appeared eager to speak to the reporters after Ms. Rice was seen on live television snickering as Mr. Mottaki spoke to event participants. Ms. Rice and her team pointedly avoided the Iranian delegation at the meeting.

He said there were other avenues to get Iran's message across. "There is no need to wait to see anybody, you can handle your message through open diplomacy, through you [journalists]," he said.

Iran's message to present and future American leaders is that they should "correct their policies toward our region," Mr. Mottaki said. He added that the three remaining presidential candidates are trying to present new ideas to the public to win votes.

But, he said Tehran doesn't have a favorite even though Democratic hopeful Senator Obama has said he is willing to meet Mr. Ahmadinejad without any preconditions, a significant shift from the Bush stance.

"We do not consider the different candidates and what they say," he said when asked about Mr. Obama's stance. "We try not to take part before the final result of the election in the United States and then we will look to their policies," Mr. Mottaki said.