President Obama has released a videotaped message to the people of Iran for the second consecutive year. In a message timed to again coincide with the Iranian holiday of Nowruz, Obama said the US will pursue sanctions against Iran while remaining open to talks.

President Obama: “We are working with the international community to hold the Iranian government accountable, because they refuse to live up to their international obligations. But our offer of comprehensive diplomatic contacts and dialogue stands. Indeed, over the course of the last year, it is the Iranian government that has chosen to isolate itself and to choose a self-defeating focus on the past over a commitment to build a better future.”

Obama also criticized the Iranian government’s violent crackdown on opposition activists following disputed elections last June. In response, Iran’s ruling cleric, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dismissed Obama’s claim to seek peace and accused the US of trying to cause a civil war in Iran.