Iran President calls US a 'great' nation
September 28, 2013  02:58
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the United States a "great" nation today in a sharp reversal from his predecessors and expressed hope that at the very least the two governments can stop the escalation of tensions.

Wrapping up his first trip to the United States as Iran's new leader, Rouhani said President Barack Obama struck a new tone in his UN speech this week, which he welcomed. 

He said he believes the first step to a meeting between the two leaders was taken Thursday at a meeting on Iran's nuclear programme, where the foreign ministers of both nations talked for the first time in six years. 

"I want it to be the case that this trip will be a first step, and a beginning for better and constructive relations with countries of the world as well as a first step for a better relationship between the two great nations of Iran and the United States of America," Rouhani told a press conference at a hotel near UN headquarters.

He expressed hope that "the views of our people, the understanding of each other, will grow, and at the level of the two governments that at the very least we can as a first step stop further escalation of tensions and then reduce tension as a next step and then pave the way for achieving of mutual interests."
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