Iranian people and civilization . '' There was no immediate response from Tehran to Obama 's message , but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last month that his country would welcome talks with the United States `` in a fair atmosphere with mutual respect . '' The United States , several European nations and Israel suspect that Tehran has been trying to acquire the capacity to build nuclear weapons , but Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes . Last month , the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security released a report saying that Iran has reached `` nuclear weapons breakout capability '' -- it has enough uranium to make a nuclear bomb . The report was based on an analysis of data from the International Atomic Energy Agency . However , an IAEA official who asked not to be named cautioned against drawing such dramatic conclusions from the data , saying Iran 's stock of low-enriched uranium would have to be turned into highly enriched uranium to be weapons-grade material . That has n't been done , the official said . The United States has had tortuous relations with Tehran since the Islamic revolution in
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Barack Obama reached out to Iran on Friday -- the start of the Iranian New Year -- in a video message offering `` the promise of a new beginning '' that is `` grounded in mutual respect . '' Obama 's message to Iran echoes his inaugural speech , where he said `` we seek a new way forward . '' The message is a dramatic shift in tone from that of the Bush administration , which included Iran , along with North Korea and Iraq , in an `` axis of evil . '' It also echoes Obama 's inaugural speech , in which he said to the Muslim world , `` we seek a new way forward , based on mutual interest and mutual respect . '' In Friday 's video , Obama said : `` The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations . You have that right , but it comes with real responsibilities . And that place can not be reached through terror or arms , but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the