Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday world powers had been persuaded they could not block Iran's nuclear progress, but he made no mention of a message by US President Barack Obama to his country.
In a separate recorded message to mark the Iranian New Year, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also did not mention Obama's videotaped offer of a "new beginning" of diplomatic engagement between the two old foes. (Reuters)