Obama blasts Iranian clamp

Posted on » Wednesday, June 24, 2009


WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama condemned Iran's crackdown on anti-government protesters last night in his strongest comments yet, declaring the US "appalled and outraged" by the violence in Tehran.

The Democratic president, facing heavy criticism from Republicans that he was being too timid in backing street protests over Iran's contested election, said accusations the US was instigating them were "patently false and absurd".

"I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost," Obama said.

He said a video of an Iranian woman killed in the streets of Tehran was "heartbreaking" and made clear the violence against the protesters was "fundamentally unjust".

"I'm not hinting. I think that when a young woman gets shot on the street when she gets out of her car, that's a problem."

Obama also said there were "significant questions" about President Mahmoud Ahmadi-nejad's disputed re-election but said he was waiting to see how the turmoil "plays itself out" for its impact of his offer of talks with Iran.

"We must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within society. And we deplore violence against innocent civilians anywhere that it takes place," he said.

Asked why it had taken him so long to express his outrage, Obama said the US approach had not been inconsistent.

"Ultimately the most important thing for the Iranian government to consider is legitimacy in the eyes of its own people," he said, adding that it was crucial to make sure that his comments were not exploited by the Iranian government.

He complained some of his circumspect words had already been wilfully misinterpreted in Iran.

"There are reports suggesting that the CIA is behind all this - all of which is patently false but it gives you a sense of the narrative that the Iranian government would love to play into."

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