Iran's leader dismisses Obama offer

Iran's supreme leader has dismissed overtures from the US president, saying Tehran does not see any change in US policy under Barack Obama's administration.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech on Saturday that there could be no change in US-Iran relations unless Obama puts an end to US hostility towards Iran and brings "real changes" in US foreign policy. He made the remarks in a televised speech in the city of Mashhad to mark the Iranian New Year. Commenting on Obama's videotaped offer of a "new beginning" in relations between the two countries, Khamenei said Iran has yet to see any change in Washington's attitude towards it. "They chant the slogan of change but no change is seen in practice. We haven't seen any change," he said. Khamenei criticised US behaviour towards Iran since its 1979 Islamic revolution, saying that the US was "hated in the world" and should stop interfering in other countries' internal affairs. He asked how Obama could congratulate Iranians on the new year while the US continues to accuse the country of supporting terrorism and seeking nuclear weapons. Saying that a change of US words was not enough, Khamenei said:  "We will watch and we will judge ... You change, our behaviour will change."