Iran Speaker Wulling talks With US Congress

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Tehran,: Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said that he is considering talks with members of the US Congress amid hopes for improved ties with the next administration in Washington, the local press reported on Tuesday.

"Several letters were received from members of Congress and Senators. We feel that it is time to hold bilateral negotiations," the conservative Larijani was quoted as saying by the Kargozaran newspaper.

"We have not given a negative response to this issue. It is under examination," he added, without specifying the dates of the letters or who had sent them.

Since Barack Obama's US Presidential election win, Iranian politicians have voiced hope for a shift in US policy towards Tehran and in an unprecedented move, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quick to congratulate Obama.

In the early stages of his election campaign, Obama said that he favoured unconditional direct talks with Tehran, but has since hardened his position.

He told his first press conference since winning the election on November 4 that Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons was unacceptable, although Tehran denies any such ambitions.

The two countries have had no diplomatic relations for nearly three decades since Islamist students took American diplomats hostage for 444 days following the 1979 Islamic revolution which toppled the US-backed shah.




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