Obama Al Arabiya interview

President Barack Obama gave his first major TV interview to Arab station Al Arabiya. His message to the Muslim world: “Americans are not your enemy.”

The interview appears to be part of the White House’s new engagement with the middle east. Obama said he hoped for a new partnership “based on mutual respect and mutual interest.” He stated that America would talk to Iran if it “unclenched its fist.” A spokesman for Iran said: “We are waiting for the new American administration to carry out practical changes…America should accept that it is a government, not an empire.”