Iran hopes that U.S. president-elect Barack Obama will honor his commitment to change after taking office, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on November 19.

"We hope Obama remains committed to what he said in the election campaign," he said at a press conference during the 15th International Exhibition of Press and News Agencies in Tehran. "We hope there is real change in America."

The annual exhibition, which was open to the public from November 16 to 22, attracted visitors from all walks of life-teachers, students, media professionals and business people alike.

Since one of the roles of the U.S. presidential election was to rectify the tarnished image of the United States, Obama's motto of change was appreciated by a large number of Americans, Mottaki said. Now the challenge is whether he can deliver on his promises after he moves into the White House in January next year.

Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic relations since shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. The revolution transformed Iran from a monarchy into an Islamic republic.

U.S. President George W. Bush labeled Iran a member of the "axis of evil" in 2002, while the late Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini described the United States as the "Great Satan."

If Obama wants to succeed, he should not follow the policies of Bush, which are the root cause of American failures in the Middle East, Mottaki said.

Iran has sent a clear signal that U.S. regional policies should "drastically change," he said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a congratulatory message to Obama on November 6, two days after he won the U.S. presidential election, demanding the United States make "basic and fair" changes in its domestic and foreign policies.

(Reporting from Tehran)