The United States welcomes the re-election of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and hopes for further reforms, a senior US official said on Sunday.
"We have to welcome the results in Iran and continue to hope for reform," the official said, quoted by Reuters
Khatami won by a landslide in Friday's elections. The victory was seen as boosting his standing in a long-running struggle against hardliners who see his reforms as a threat to religious and revolutionary values and their own grip on power.
"We continue to worry about Iran's international behavior, (however) you have to be hopeful," the US official said.
US officials said last week that even if Khatami were re-elected, a major new gesture of rapprochement with Tehran was unlikely any time soon.
Washington held off Saturday from congratulating Khatami, although the administration of President George W. Bush was to tell Congress it wanted the planned five-year extension of oil-related sanctions on both Iran and Libya cut to only two years.
"Our practice is to try to avoid wherever possible getting involved in other people's elections and I think that applies particularly to Iranian elections," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Friday.
Meanwhile, Iran's other arch-enemy, Israel, welcomed Khatami's landslide as a sign of the country's desire for greater freedom, but also pointed out that conservatives still controlled Iran's levers of power.
"There are two governments in Iran. One is being elected, the other is governing," Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told reporters in Jerusalem.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry statement, cited by AFP, added that "with regard to Israel, there is unfortunately no difference between those who want progress and conservatives in Iran, because both currents deny the right for Israel to exist."
The United States has said closer ties with Iran would depend on the country ending its active hostility to Arab-Israeli peace efforts, its alleged support for what it calls “terrorist groups,” its missile program and alleged efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
In the meantime, Arab and European leaders congratulated Sunday Khatami on his landslide re-election.
In official statements and letters to Khatami, foreign leaders expressed hope that the reformist president's victory on Friday -- with 77 percent of the vote against nine conservative challengers -- would lead to greater democracy and a wider diplomatic and economic opening in Iran.
"By a crushing majority, the Iranian population chose the pursuit of your political reforms. I wish you a lot of success in achieving the tasks you still have," said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in a letter to the 57-year-old cleric, quoted by AFP.
"Khatami is the guarantor of his country's opening up and of Iran's integration in the international community," said German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, whose country has close commercial ties but strained political relations with Tehran, said the agency.
On Saturday, Berlin was at the head of the pack in congratulating the reformist president, with President Johannes Rau telling Khatami that the Iranian people had confirmed "his policy of strengthening democracy."
Paris also hailed Khatami's triumph, with President Jacques Chirac on Sunday congratulating his counterpart on the Iranian people's support for reform.
In a statement, Chirac noted Khatami's commitment to "work for social justice and a state of law."
Moscow, whose growing military ties with Tehran have irked Iran's arch-foe, the United States, was also among the first nations to congratulate Khatami on Saturday.
On Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Khatami's re-election "shows large support for reforms."
Iran's Arab neighbors welcomed Khatami's win, however, putting more emphasis on their hope that it would contribute to the regional cooperation which has developed since Khatami was first elected in 1997.
President Bashar Al Assad of Syria sent the cleric a cable expressing his confidence that the relations between Damascus and Tehran would continue to grow, said Iran’s IRNA news agency.
Morocco's King Mohammed also sent warm greetings to Khatami, IRNA added.
And congratulations poured in from Manama, Doha and Muscat, with Bahrain's Sheikh Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa wishing Khatami "success in carrying out the aspirations of the Iranian people."
But Gulf countries also called on Iran to promote stability in the region.
A longstanding dispute between Iran and the United Arab Emirates over three Gulf islands "requires a special effort on the part of President Khatami to settle the disagreement," said Qatar's Ash-Sharq newspaper, cited by AFP – Albawaaba.com
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