U.S. & World

TEHRAN,Iran (AP) ― World leaders have been expressing congratulations to Barack Obama on his win ever since the results of the presidential election were revealed, with even rare good wishes coming from Iran's leader and a controversial remark from Italy's prime minister.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad congratulated President-elect Obama on his win -- the first time an Iranian leader has offered such wishes to a U.S. president-elect since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Ahmadinejad sent a message to Obama in which he congratulated the Democrat on "attracting the majority of voters in the election."

The text of the note was carried by the official IRNA news agency on Thursday.

In the message, Ahmadinejad also says he hopes Obama will "use the opportunity to serve the (American) people and leave a good name" during his term in office.

Iran and U.S. have no formal diplomatic relations since 1979 and the hostage drama when militant Iranian students held 52 Americans captive 444 days.

Italy's famously impolitic Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi described Obama on Thursday as "young, handsome and even tanned."

Berlusconi appeared to be joking about America's first black president at a news conference following talks with Russia's president.

The Italian leader, who has a history of controversial remarks, was asked by a reporter about the prospect for U.S.-Russian relations, which have plummeted to Cold War-levels in recent months.

Berlusconi responded by saying that the relative youth of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, 43, and Obama, 47, should make it easier for Moscow and Washington to work together.

Then he said, smiling: "I told the president that (Obama) has everything needed in order to reach deals with him: he's young, handsome and even tanned."

Medvedev did not visibly react to the comment.

Italian news agencies said Berlusconi later defended the remark to reporters as he returned to his hotel in Moscow, calling the statement "a great compliment"

"Why are they taking it as something negative? ... If they have the vice of not having a sense of humor, worse for them," the ANSA news agency quoted him as saying.

Berlusconi is infamous for eyebrow-raising comments.

He once compared a German lawmaker to a Nazi camp guard, asserted after the Sept. 11 terror attacks that Western civilization was superior to Islam and more recently, that the new Spanish government had too many women.

Italy's only black lawmaker, Jean-Leonard Touadi, called the comment embarrassing.

"In the United States, a joke like that wouldn't just be politically incorrect, but a great offense to this amazing example of integration, which it seems the Italian premier should take as an example," Touadi said.

Current U.S.-Iranian relations remain tense, with Washington accusing Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons and of providing support for Shiite militants who are killing U.S. soldiers in Iraq -- charges Iran denies.

In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a contender for prime minister in her country's elections, warned against any dialogue with Iran -- a first sign of Israeli disagreement with the incoming U.S. administration.

"Dialogue at this time is liable to broadcast weakness," cautioned Livni, who is head of the governing Kadima Party. "I think early dialogue at a time when it appears to Iran that the world has given up on sanctions could be problematic."

Israeli officials describe Iran as the biggest threat to the Jewish state's existence, citing Ahmadinejad's frequent calls for Israel's destruction and its development of long-range missiles capable of striking the Jewish state.

Livni has repeatedly said she hopes international diplomacy prevails. But she doesn't rule out force if U.N. sanctions don't pressure Iran to scale back its nuclear aims. In June, she said Iran "needs to understand the military threat exists and is not being taken off the table."

Iran sees Obama's victory as a triumph over the unpopular policies of President Bush, who repeatedly clashed with Iranian leaders while in office over Iran's nuclear program and its opposition to the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq.

In his message to Obama Thursday, Ahmadinejad went on to say that "nations of the world" expect changes from Obama -- mostly that he will change current U.S. foreign policy.

That policy, the note claimed, was "based on warmongering, occupation, bullying, deception and humiliation, as well as discrimination and unfair relations" and has led to "hatred of all nations and majority of governments toward the U.S. leaders."

Ahmadinejad also said that Obama is expected to replace such a policy with "an approach based on justice and respect, as well as lack of intervention in the affairs of others."

Iranians will welcome such changes, Ahmadinejad added.

Iran's government refused to publicly side with any of the U.S. candidates throughout the presidential race, although Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said last month that Obama seemed "more rational" than John McCain.

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