Despite the efforts being made by the Obama administration to reach out to Iran and mend political, economic and diplomatic ties with the Iranian government, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said the US government still has a lot of making up to do with Iran.
Interviewed on "60 Minutes'' on Sunday, Rouhani said America should make up for its past mistakes regarding Iran.
The Iranian leader tried to evade questions about the controversial slogans "Death to America" and "The Great Satan" that Iranians chant during Friday prayers even after a nuclear agreement between the two countries was reached, according to Newsmax.
Pressed to answer, Rouhani explained that the slogans "Death to America" and "The Great Satan'' seek to condemn American policy and should not be seen as a call to kill Americans. He explained that "Satan" refers to the power that tricks others and whose words do not match reality.
"Our people respect the American people. The Iranian people are not looking for war with any country," he said. "But at the same time the policies of the United States have been against the national interests of Iranian people. It's understandable that people will demonstrate sensitivity to this issue."
"What I can say is that the US has made many mistakes in the past regarding Iran, and must make up for those mistakes," Rouhani said.
The White House believes that it scored a victory with Rouhani's diplomatic outreach to the West and the United States.
However, some Iranians and other critics think there is an underlying and more sophisticated reality regarding the deal given that the two countries have been at odds tracing back to the 1979 Islamic revolution, according to CBS News. Raising more suspicion, as far as the critics are concerned, is the fact that the US has long acknowledged Iran as a key supporter of terrorist movements worldwide and its poor human rights record.
Rouhani said Iranians are looking forward to a bright future and are still hopeful that the ongoing hostility with the Americans would ease up through the landmark nuclear accord.
Last week, US lawmakers who opposed the deal were not able to muster enough votes to block it by the legislative deadline for action, said Time.
Rouhani is optimistic that Iran's parliament and Supreme National Security Council would also approve the accord.
The nuclear accord was reached in July between Iran and six world powers that would lift crippling sanctions on Iran in return for limits on its nuclear work.
