November 09, 2008	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 10, 1429

TEHRAN, Nov 8: Iran’s head of parliament on Saturday criticised US President-elect Barack Obama for saying its development of a nuclear weapon would be “unacceptable” and repeated the country’s call for fundamental policy change.

“Obama must know that the change he talks about is a fundamental change and not changing of colours or tactics,” Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said in comments on state radio.

Larijani, echoing Iran’s official line, called on Obama to carry out his campaign slogans of US foreign policy change, including changes in Washington’s dealings with Tehran.

“Repeating objections to Iran’s nuclear programme will be taking a step in the wrong direction.”

Obama, at his first news conference since election, said on Friday an international effort must be made to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, adding that the country’s development of a nuclear weapon was “unacceptable”.

Larijani said Iran would not yield to international pressure to abandon its right to nuclear technology. “You (Obama) should know that you (the United States) cannot prevent Iran (from obtaining nuclear technology),” the official IRNA news agency quoted Larijani as saying.

Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected world powers’ demand that it halt uranium enrichment, a process which can have both civilian and military purposes, in exchange for trade and other economic benefits.

Iran’s stance has drawn three rounds of UN sanctions since 2006 as well as bilateral US punitive measures.

A senior Iranian official called on Obama on Thursday to show goodwill and remove “cruel” sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic.

Obama has said he would harden sanctions on Iran but has also held out the possibility of direct talks with US adversaries to resolve problems, including the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.—Reuters