Iran makes overtures to US

There's been a further call from Iran for better relations with the United States.

The Iranian Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharrazi, told Iranian television that Iran wants to reach an understanding with the American people.

He said he hoped President Khatami would have the opportunity of addressing them, possibly in a TV broadcast.

Last week President Khatami himself called for dialogue with the people of the United States.

A BBC analyst says this is regarded as the strongest gesture of reconciliation since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

In a separate development, the Iranian Minister of Islamic Guidance, Seyyed Ataollah Mohajerani, has appealed for closer ties with the European Union

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service