Tehran: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today congratulated Barak Obama on his election win - the first time an Iranian leader has offered such wishes to a US 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.
In the message, Ahmadinejad also said he hopes Obama will "use the opportunity to serve the (American) people and leave a good name for history" during his term in office.
Iran and US have no formal diplomatic relations since 1979 and the hostage drama when militant Iranian students held 52 Americans captive 444 days.
Current US -Iranian relations remain very tense, with Washington accusing Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons and of providing support for Shiite militants who are killing US soldiers in Iraq - charges which Tehran denies.
Tehran sees Obama s victory as a triumph over the unpopular policies of President George W. Bush, who repeatedly clashed with Iranian leaders while in office over Iran's controversial nuclear program and Tehran's opposition to the US -led invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003, respectively.
In his message to Obama today, Ahmadinejad went on to say that "nations of the world" expect changes from Obama - mostly that he will change current US foreign policy.
