He told the annual UN General Assembly summit in New York on Tuesday that he wants to pursue a diplomatic path to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.

"The United States and Iran have been isolated from one another since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. This mistrust has deep roots,” he said.

"I don't believe this difficult history can be overcome overnight. The suspicions run too deep. But I do believe that if we can resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear program - that can serve as a major step down a long road towards a different relationship - one based on mutual interests and mutual respect”.

He further said since the start of his term he has been telling Iran’s leader and recently Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani that his government is determined to resolve the dispute diplomatically.

“We are not seeking regime change and we respect the right of the Iranian people to access peaceful nuclear energy,” he said.

“We should be able to achieve a resolution that respects the rights of the Iranian people, while giving the world confidence that the Iranian program is peaceful. To succeed, conciliatory words will have to be matched by actions that are transparent and verifiable.” US President added.

"But I want to be clear, we are encouraged that President Rouhani received from the Iranian people a mandate to pursue a more moderate course and given President Rouhani's stated commitment to reach an agreement, I am directing John Kerry to pursue this effort with the Iranian government in close cooperation with the European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China.”

The United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran argues that as a committed signatory to the NPT and a member of the IAEA, it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

SHI/SHI