Iran's Supreme Leader says US fails to act on promise

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the United States has failed to act on its promise to establish better ties with the Islamic Republic.

Khamenei was addressing Iranians in the holy city of Mashhad to mark "Nowruz", the Persian New Year. He said the US administration and president claimed to be willing to normalize relations with Iran, but in practice they did the opposite. Khamenei also accused of the US of supporting the unrest that followed Iran's presidential election in June 2009.

The remarks come a day after US President Barack Obama said his administration still sought dialogue with Iran over its nuclear issue, but that the Iranian government had chosen isolation. Obama says the US would like to forge educational and cultural exchanges with Iran.