LONDON, March 13 (UPI) -- British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw issued a direct appeal to the Iranian people Monday, saying they "deserved better" than their current government.
In a speech at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, Straw said he wanted to help the Iranian people create a freer and more prosperous future for themselves.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was leading Iran in "the wrong direction" in his handling of the ongoing dispute with the international community over the country's nuclear programs, he said.
"Since President Ahmadinejad's election last year, he and the small group which surrounds him have adopted policies both at home and abroad which risk real damage to Iran's reputation and its relations with the rest of the world.
"Iran and the Iranian people deserve better."
Straw said foreign investors were already looking elsewhere and talented young Iranians were leaving the country.
The situation was likely to be exacerbated if there was a protracted dispute between Iran and the United Nations, he said.
Straw stressed that he was not in favor of "regime change" in Iran, saying any change in government had to "come from within."
He also moved to dispel the perception within Iran that the West objected to the Iranians having a civil nuclear power program. The concerns of the international community related to aspects of Iran's nuclear program that were not necessary for a civil program and Tehran's "deliberate policy of concealment," he said.
The foreign secretary said any action taken by the United Nations Security Council -- considering Iran's nuclear dossier this week -- should leave the door open for negotiations to be resumed.
But, he warned: "If the Iranian regime chooses not to heed the concerns of the international community, it will damage the interests of the Iranian people.
