Tehran: "praised Obama's election & the US's rejection of the GOP.. said it would change history "in the core" and perhaps end "US hostile policies"

In McClatchy's here

"...During his sermon minutes before, however, the imam, Ayatollah Mohammed Emami Kashani, had a different message. He praised the election of Barack Obama and the U.S. electorate's rejection of the Republican Party and said it would change history "in the core" and perhaps end what Iran considers hostile U.S. policies.

"We wish for the day this happens, and these policies go," Kashani told the crowd, which included Ali Larijani, Iran's former nuclear negotiator and now the speaker of the Majlis, or parliament. If there's one unifying theme among Iranians of many stripes, it's this: It's up to Obama to make the first move.

Given the muddled and bitter history between the countries, dating from U.S. support for the unpopular shah before Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, any talks are likely to be slow, frustrating and preceded by a long diplomatic dance.

European diplomats, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to be more frank, said that Iran's ruling circles were so divided over how to deal with Washington that only Obama could take the first step.

Iranians follow U.S. policy debates with an intensity that would surprise most Americans...."