Iran’s hardline president lashed out anew at the US and US President Barack Obama yesterday, accusing him of interference and suggesting that Washington’s stance on Iran’s postelection turmoil could imperil Obama’s aim of improving relations.
“We are surprised at Mr Obama,” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in remarks to judiciary officials broadcast on state TV. “Didn’t he say that he was after change? Why did he interfere?”
“They keep saying that they want to hold talks with Iran ... but is this the correct way? Definitely, they have made a mistake,” Ahmadinejad said.
PHOTO: AP
Obama was strongly criticized at home and by many abroad for his initial measured response to opposition allegations that Ahmadinejad was re-elected by fraud in the June 12 balloting and to the harsh crackdown on protesters. The Obama administration wants to improve contacts with Tehran, especially because of concern that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, and Obama appeared unwilling to jeopardize that goal with strong statements against Iran’s authorities.
But on Friday, Obama hailed the demonstrators in Iran and condemned the violence against them.
“Their bravery in the face of brutality is a testament to their enduring pursuit of justice,” Obama said. “The violence perpetrated against them is outrageous. In spite of the government’s efforts to keep the world from bearing witness to that violence, we see it and we condemn it.”
Meanwhile, opposition supporters, faced with a senior cleric’s demand that protest leaders be severely punished or even executed, enter the third week of their campaign against the election results in increasingly tight straits.
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who claims Ahmadinejad stole the election, said he would seek official permission for any future rallies, effectively ending his role in street protests.
Mousavi’s Web site, his primary means for communicating with supporters, remained down yesterday; an aide told reporters on Friday that the site had been hacked.
Mousavi alleges he was robbed of victory through widespread and systematic fraud. The regime rejects the claim, refusing to consider new balloting, and on Friday, the Guardian Council — Iran’s top electoral body — proclaimed the vote the “healthiest” held since the revolution. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ruled out a revote.
Since the election, opposition protesters repeatedly have clashed with security forces who arrested hundreds of people, including journalists, academics and university students.
At least 17 people have been killed, in addition to eight members of the pro-government Basij militia, officials have said.
The demonstrations petered out this week under an ever-intensifying crackdown. Mousavi, meanwhile, has sent mixed signals to supporters, asking them not to break the law while pledging not to drop his challenge.
As the protests dwindle amid intensifying official pressure, the opposition may suffer from a decline in international attention. The protests and violence dominated Western news broadcasts for nearly two weeks, but along with the diminished action on the streets in Iran, other stories have arisen to siphon away attention — especially the death of pop star Michael Jackson.
TV coverage of Iran’s turmoil has fallen since Jackson’s death on Thursday; on the Twitter micro-blogging site, Iran remained among the most discussed topics, but fell below Jackson and comments about the movie Transformers 2.
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