Senior Iranian cleric criticises Clinton's call for renewed sanctions

Tehran: A senior Iranian cleric on Friday lashed out at requests made by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to renew sanction against Iran over its refusal to halt its nuclear programmes.

"What kind of talk is that and where is the difference to the policy adopted against Iran during the (former US president George W) Bush era?" ex-president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani said at a Friday prayer ceremony.

In her address to the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Clinton spoke of the US' plans to pursue a dual-track approach to Iran which would involve both holding talks and preparing very tough sanctions if Iran failed to accept Western proposals.