Larijani urges Obama to adopt new policy

TEHRAN, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama should adopt a new foreign policy when it comes to the Middle East, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says.

The Iranian official said this week that when Obama takes office next year, the Democratic president-elect should implement a policy toward the foreign region that differs from previous U.S. administrations, the Fars News Agency said Thursday.

"Washington's old and inefficient policies toward Iran and the Middle East no longer yield results," the parliamentary official said Wednesday.

Larijani also spoke about the "carrot-and-stick" approach toward foreign policy used by U.S. President George W. Bush's administration, especially regarding negotiations over Iran's controversial nuclear program.

"The carrot-and-stick policy is an old and barbaric and offers nothing new," the Iranian official said.

Fars said Larijani's comments come in the wake of a report by U.S. experts, who suggest immediate U.S.-Iranian negotiations as the best solution to the ongoing conflict between the countries.