Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has congratulated Barack Obama on his US presidential election and called for "fundamental and fair" changes to US foreign policy.

"The great Iranian nation welcomes real, fundamental and fair changes in America's behaviour and policies, particularly in the Middle East region," Ahmadinejad said in a statement on Thursday.

Iranian officials have said Obama's election showed the American people's desire for a change in the policies of George Bush, the current US president, who once labelled Iran part of an "axis of evil".

The move was the first time an Iranian leader has offered such good wishes to a US president-elect since the 1979 revolution.

Diplomatic ties between the two countries have largely been cut since the revolution removed the country's US-backed leader from power.

During campaigning, Obama said if elected, he would consider holding direct talks with Iranian leaders over the country's nuclear programme, which Western powers have alleged is for developing weapons.

'War-oriented' policies

Ahmadinejad said in the statement published by Irna, Iran's official news agency, that he hoped Obama would put an end to the United States' "war-oriented" policies.

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Obama has said he would be willing to toughen sanctions on Iran, and like George Bush, the current president, would not rule out military action against Tehran.

Obama has said direct talks could be necessary to give those decisions greater credibility and criticised the outgoing administration for not pushing for more diplomacy and engagement with Tehran.

On Thursday,  the Bush administration further
restricted Iran's access to the US financial system by banning certain types of fund transfers, the US treasury department said.

Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dori- Najafabadi, Iran's prosecutor-general, on Thursday called on Obama to remove international sanctions imposed on it.

Speaking to Mehr news agency, he said that "through the lifting of the past government's cruel sanctions against Iran, Barack Obama can demonstrate his goodwill to the Iranian people".

Israeli caution

The UN has imposed three rounds of sanctions since 2006, in addition to bilateral measures by Washington, over Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment - a process that can have either civilian or military uses.

Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister and leader of the ruling Kadima party, warned Obama against rushing into any engagement with Tehran.

"Dialogue at this time is liable to broadcast weakness," she said in Jerusalem on Thursday.

Israeli officials have describe Iran as the biggest threat to its existence.