Iran's president calls for 'constructive' dialogue, end to 'unhealthy' rivalries

Iran: We want 'constructive engagement'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: In Post op-ed, Iran's president says failing to engage "leads to everyone's loss"
• NEW: Iran's nuclear program is solely for energy, a matter of national pride, he says
• John Kerry praises Iranian president's comments on talks, nuclear program
• Yet the top U.S. diplomat adds: "Everything needs to be put to the test"

(CNN) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made his case Thursday to the American people and the world for "a constructive approach" to contentious issues including his nation's nuclear program, arguing that failing to engage "leads to everyone's loss."

"We must work together to end the unhealthy rivalries and interferences that fuel violence and drive us apart," Rouhani said in an op-ed published Thursday evening on the Washington Post's website.

It's not the first time a leader from a country often at podds with the United States has used its newspapers to convey his or her views. Just last week, for instance, Russian President Vladimir Putin argued against international military intervention in Syria and jabbed his U.S. counterpart for saying Americans should consider themselves "exceptional" -- a remark that quickly elicited derision from across the U.S. political spectrum.