U.S., India call on Iran to seize moment

TEHRAN,June 26(MNA) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Iran on Monday to “take advantage of this moment” following its election of a more moderate president to help resolve the dispute over its nuclear program, AFP reported. Kerry said he sought an assessment of developments in Iran during talks with Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid of India, a country that has warm relations with both Tehran and Washington. “Hopefully India with its relationship could help urge the new Iranian leadership… to take advantage of this moment,” Kerry told a joint news conference. “We would call on the Iranians not to miscalculate about American and international commitment,” he said. “We would urge Iran to prove to the world that its peaceful nuclear program, as they say it is, is in fact peaceful.” Khurshid voiced hope for more diplomacy, saying, “We would want to judge and test as to what the new president’s intentions and inclinations are.” Iran says that it is seeking nuclear energy, but a number of Western countries have voiced fears that it may be seeking to develop the capability to build an atomic bomb and Israel has not ruled out a military strike.