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LISA MULLINS: I'm Lisa Mullins, and this is The World, a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH in Boston. President Barack Obama sent a video message today to the people of Iran. He said the United States is ready to end the decades of hostility and distrust between Washington and Tehran.

BARACK OBAMA: 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 cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization.

MULLINS: The President's video to the people of Iran included Persian subtitles. And it was timed to coincide with Iran's New Year. Borzou Daragahi is covering the story for the Los Angeles Times. This constitutes an unprecedented show of goodwill from an American administration, yet you have said that Iranian officials responded with suspicion to the message. Can you tell us what their response was?

BORZOU DARAGAHI: Well, Iranians so far have welcomed the message, but they've said that until they see changes in policy, concrete changes in action, they are not going to take this attempt at diplomatic outreach seriously. They wanna see a US taking different steps.

MULLINS: Steps such as what?

DARAGAHI: Well, for example, last week you had the Obama administration renewing sanctions against Iran. Those sanctions have been in place since the 1990s under former President Bill Clinton. Iranians say that that would have been an example of a goodwill gesture.

MULLINS: Borzou, you've been following the goings on with this Iranian government for quite some time. Can you read between the lines? I mean, when they say that they are suspicious, do you think that there's something beneath the surface here, that there is an acceptance of this goodwill measure?

DARAGAHI: Well, I think that the Iranian officials and Iranian leadership would like to believe that the US is genuinely taking a different course, and that this is maybe the beginning of a new kind of relationship between Iran and the US, but they're extremely suspicious. They think that Obama's diplomatic outreach is an attempt at softening rhetoric without actually changing policies, in an attempt to reach out diplomatically, that's designed to fail. And then, at that point, the US will be in a much better position to get countries like China and Russia and South Korea, India, Pakistan, who've been doing a lot of business with Iran, to join in in isolating the Islamic Republic. And so they're very suspicious of this scenario, and it is one that, quite frankly, from an Iranian point of view, one that they can read on the website of neo-Conservative think tanks in the US.

MULLINS: I wonder with your own read of what President Obama is saying to the Iranian people, and actually, it seems from our reading here as if he's addressing the Iranian government as well, because one of the things he says is, "My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us. Process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect." What was it that struck you with what he said, either to the people of Iran, or to the government?

DARAGAHI: Well, I thought that the tone of the talk was very conciliatory, and I mean, I think one particularly notable difference with the Bush administration was that there is no threat, there is no options off the table, there was no suggestion that tougher action was in store. It was just a kind, conciliatory, no strings attached gesture of friendliness.

MULLINS: Finally, Borzou, before we let you go, Barack Obama's happy holiday wishes in Persian.

BARACK OBAMA: Thank you and Eid-e Shoma Mobarak.

MULLINS: Pronunciation, how good was it?

DARAGAHI: It wasn't bad. It was a nice try. The rhythm was a little off but, you know, good job.

MULLINS: Would you like to show us how it's done?

DARAGAHI: Eid-e Shoma Mobarak.

MULLINS: Thank you, Borzou Daragahi, correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. Thanks a lot. And Happy New Year.

DARAGAHI: Thank you.

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