The Nobel committee made a "hasty and premature" decision in awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Manouchehr Mottaki told the Mehr news agency.
Undeserved Award?
Obama honored, humbled by Nobel / News agencies
US President says in White House speech he does not feel he has done enough to earn Peace Prize. 'I do not view it as recognition of my own accomplishments, rather as affirmation of American leadership,' he says
But he added that he would not to be opposed to such a choice if it could change the direction of US policy.
"If this prize acts as an encouragement for a practical rejection of the warmongering and unilateral policies of previous American administrations and create an approach based on just peace, we have no opposition to it," he said.
Mottaki added that it would have been more appropriate to award the prize to Obama once "American troops have withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq".
"We hope it (the reward) will motivate them to take the path that will bring justice to the world", Ali Akbar Javanfekr, an aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told AFP earlier.
"We are not upset and we hope that after receiving this award he will begin to take concrete steps to putting an end to injustice in the world," he added.
Mr. Javanfekr said Obama could prove he deserved the award by relinquishing veto power in the UN Security Council.
Since first elected president in 2005, Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for the removal of veto power held by the United States and the four other permanent members of the council.
Mr Javanfekr said Obama also should tell the world "what he has done to reduce the gap between rich and poor in the United States and in nations under US influence".
The Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded Friday to President Barack Obama, who has strongly influenced Washington's foreign policy by opting for a more multilateral and consensual foreign policy and opting for dialogue with Iran.
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