Washington  - US President Barack Obama early Friday offered a new start with Iran, saying the United States was committed to engagement, not threats, in its pursuit of diplomacy.

Obama made the remarks in a message for Nowruz, or the start of the Iranian year, broadcast by Voice of America's (VOA) Persian News Network, which is widely viewed by satellite in Iran.

Obama said it could not be a one-sided effort, suggesting the people of Iran also "have a choice" about whether they take their "rightful place in the community of nations."

"That place cannot be reached through terror or arms but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization," Obama said, according to a prepared text released through VOA.

The message reflected Obama's promise of diplomacy and engagement with Iran made through his 2008 election campaign and marked a stark departure from his predecessor George W Bush, who refused to deal with Iran's leaders.

Last year at Nowruz, Bush delivered a brief New Year's greeting, then lambasted Iran's leaders in a VOA interview over the country's uranium-enrichment programme, which has provoked three rounds of UN sanctions.

Obama did not mention uranium enrichment but noted that the United States has "serious differences that have grown over time."

While he said he looked ahead to a "future where the old divisions are overcome," he added: "I know that this won't be reached easily. There are those who will insist that we be defined by our differences."

Obama said that future could include "renewed exchanges among our people and greater opportunities for partnership and commerce."

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned of the continuing threat from Iran of acquiring nuclear weapons and serving as a base for terrorist attacks.

But she also made sure that Tehran was invited to the March 31 international conference in The Hague on Afghanistan, whose regional security issues could provide a basis for cooperation with Iran.

US military officials have even begun exploring alternative supply routes for NATO and Afghan troops into Afghanistan that would avoid the ever more restive Pakistan, and some of the routes could cross Iran, The New York Times reported recently. (dpa)