WASHINGTON, November 4 (RIA Novosti) - Iran "must choose" whether it wants to open the door for opportunity and prosperity, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement on the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

"It is time for the Iranian government to decide whether it wants to focus on the past, or whether it will make the choices that will open the door to greater opportunity, prosperity and justice for its people," Obama said in a statement.

Fifty-two U.S. diplomats were held by students for 444 days, with the United States cutting off diplomatic ties with Iran five months into the crisis in April 1980. Since then, Washington and Tehran have had no direct diplomatic relations.

"This event helped set the United States and Iran on a path of sustained suspicion, mistrust and confrontation," Obama said. "I have made it clear that the United States of America wants to move beyond this past, and seeks a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interests and mutual respect."

Obama added that Iran's future depended on the Islamic Republic's readiness to follow its international commitments.

"We have made clear that if Iran lives up to the obligations that every nation has, it will have a path to a more prosperous and productive relationship with the international community," he added.

"Iran must choose. We have heard for 30 years what the Iranian government is against; the question, now, is what kind of future it is for," the U.S. president said.

The West led by the United States accuses Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program but the Islamic Republic has said it needs nuclear power solely for civilian purposes.