Iran's Parliament (Majlis) Speaker, Ali Larijani, said on Wednesday the Palestinian issue is a test for U.S. President Barack Obama's "change" slogan, Iran's semi- official Mehr news agency reported.
"Palestine is the scene of test for all the countries and (also) the most important criteria to test the slogan of change by the new U.S. administration," Larijani was quoted as saying, Xinhua reported.
Iran is believed to anticipate the new Obama administration to earnestly include the Palestinian issue in its agenda of foreign policy-making and in the potential talks with Iran.
Tehran never hesitated to pronounce its all-out support for Hamas during the three-week unprecedented Israeli military offensive on Gaza, which left over 1,400 Palestinians killed and 5, 500 others wounded.
Earlier in February, Iran announced that it would host a conference in support for the Palestinians in the near future.
Iran's parliament is to host an international conference in support for Gaza on March 4-5, the official IRNA news agency said.
On Feb. 17, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeated his call for "real changes" in U.S. policies.
"Iran, along with other world countries, is waiting to witness real changes in the U.S. (policies)," Ahmadinejad said in an interview broadcast live.
Obama said earlier in February that his administration was " looking for openings" to start face-to-face talks with Iran.
Obama's predecessor George W. Bush had repeatedly said a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear issue was "the first option, " although "all options are on the table."
The United States and its allies accuse Tehran of its intention to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran has denied the charges and insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
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