Americans are not your enemy, president tells Arabic TV network as US envoy sets out on eight days of talks



Barack Obama has sought to mend America's ties with the Muslim world, declaring: "Americans are not your enemy."

In a signal of his desire to repair the diplomatic damage of the George Bush era, Obama chose to give his first formal television interview since becoming US president to the Arabic cable TV network al-Arabiya. In it, he said the US sometimes made mistakes, but stressed that his administration would adopt a more open diplomatic approach than his predecessor's.

Obama renewed his pledge to make an address in the capital of a major Muslim country, pointed out that he had lived in Indonesia for several years while growing up, and said his travels through Muslim states had convinced him that, regardless of faith, people had certain common hopes and dreams.

"My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect," Obama said in the interview, recorded yesterday.

To Iran – which Bush declared part of an "axis of evil" – Obama repeated his offer of friendship, saying that he would set out a policy towards Tehran in the next few months.

"As I said in my inauguration speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us," Obama said. "It is very important for us to make sure that we are using all the tools of US power, including diplomacy, in our relationship with Iran."

Susan Rice, the new US ambassador to the United Nations, yesterday pledged "vigorous" and "direct" nuclear diplomacy with Iran but warned pressure would increase if Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment.

The five permanent members of the UN security council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the US – and Germany have offered Tehran economic and energy incentives in exchange for halting its uranium enrichment programme, which the west sees as a cover to acquire a nuclear weapons capability. But Tehran is pressing on with the programme, which it says is geared toward electricity generation.

Obama recorded the interview with the Dubai-based network as his envoy to the Middle East, the former senator George Mitchell, set out on an eight-day trip to the region and elsewhere.

The move complemented the new administration's first efforts to reach out to regional leaders who have been wary at best of US efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Obama said he felt it important to "get engaged right away" in the Middle East, and had directed Mitchell to talk to "all the major parties involved". His administration would craft an approach after that, he said.

"What I told him is, start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating," Obama told the interviewer.

The president reiterated the US commitment to Israel as an ally, and to its right to defend itself. But he suggested Israel had hard choices to make, and that his administration would press harder for it to make them.

"We cannot tell either the Israelis or the Palestinians what is best for them," he said. "They are going to have to make some decisions. But I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realise that the path they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people."

Obama added: "There are Israelis who recognise that it is important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side."

Obama stopped short of giving a timetable, but he said he was certain progress could be made.