Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that the United States must make a " fundamental" change in its policy instead of only tactics.

"Changes can happen in two ways. One is a fundamental and effectual change and the other is a change of tactics," Ahmadinejad told a rally in the western Iranian city of Khermenshah, which was broadcast on state television.

"Obviously we will soon know whether its meaning of change is the second one," he added.

The Iranian president also said that the United States must apologize for its "crimes against Iran" in the past 60 years and try to remedy its past faults.

"Those who say they want to make changes should apologize to the Iranian people and try to make up for their past faults and crimes they committed against Iran," Ahmadinejad said.

He also said that the United States must stop interfering in other countries' internal affairs, put an end to its expansionist policies and withdraw U.S. troops from other countries.

His remarks came one day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Iran to take opportunity offered by new U.S. President Barack Obama to engage more productively on its nuclear program and other issues.

"There is a clear opportunity for the Iranians, as the president expressed in his interview, to demonstrate some willingness to engage meaningfully with the international community," Clinton told her first press conference at the State Department on Tuesday.

In a recent interview with Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television, Obama said, "if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us."

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.

The United States severed its ties with Iran in 1980. Since then, Washington has been trying to beef up its sanctions against Tehran for allegedly developing secretly nuclear weapons and for being involved in anti-U.S. coalition forces activities.

(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2009)