TEHRAN: Iran on Friday urged the United States to shift from its previous policies on the Middle East conflict, a day after Israel called for tougher sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear drive.

“We warn the US government and (President Barack) Obama not to fall into the trap laid by former US politicians on the issue of Palestine,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.

“The US government should know the new Middle East peace plan cannot ignore Palestinians’ rights and that this plan does not secure the least of Palestinians’ demands,” he said.

Mottaki also insisted that Iran’s national interests were tied up with “obtaining Palestinians’ rights.” Iran does not recognize Israel and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s frequent verbal attacks on the Jewish state have ratcheted up tension between the two over the past four years.

Tehran is also a staunch supporter of armed Palestinian groups and the Lebanese Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Thursday for “crippling sanctions” against Iran to stop its disputed nuclear work as he expressed hopes for a quick resumption of Middle East peace talks.

Widely considered the Middle East’s sole nuclear armed power, Israel suspects its archfoe Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program, a charge Tehran denies.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meanwhile said Friday that Palestinians must be able to show a united front to help revive peace talks.

“It will be crucially important that the Palestinian people are united among themselves and should be able to carry on these negotiations,” he told a news conference in Vienna.

Ban said that while a seven-year-old Arab League peace initiative provided a cornerstone for negotiations, “at the same time we also value ... bilateral negotiations between Israel and Palestinian authorities.”

Hamas, the group which has controlled Gaza since defeating the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007, opposes Abbas’ readiness to negotiate peace with Israel.

Obama’s administration is pressing Arab governments for positive gestures toward Israel if it freezes Jewish settlement building on occupied land.

Washington hopes this will lead to regional peace talks but Arab states are cool to the idea. Arab leaders say they remain committed to an initiative, endorsed at a 2002 Arab League summit, offering Israel recognition in return for withdrawal from all lands Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war, creation of a Palestinian state and a “just” solution for Palestinian refugees. Successive Israeli governments have rejected or ignored the offer, saying the return of refugees to areas now inside Israel would destroy the Jewish character of the state.

Still, Ban said he had high hopes for Obama’s approach in pushing forward with the peace process.

“We will see some positive results coming from the American administration’s direct engagement in the Middle East,” he said.