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| Obama said the world would bear witness to what was happening in Iran [EPA] |
In his most forceful comments so far on the political ferment in Iran, Barack Obama, the US president, has strongly condemned Iran's crackdown on protesters arguing against what they see as a deeply flawed vote.
"The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days," Obama said.
"I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost."
Obama said the world would bear witness to the repression despite Iran's efforts to still voices of protest and block images of bloodshed.
Sympathy for protesters
He tried to show more empathy for the protesters, specifically referring to video of the dying Nedah Agha-Soltani, pictures that have being seen as a symbol of the Iranian opposition's struggle.
"We have seen courageous women stand up to brutality and threats, and we have experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets," Obama said.
"While this loss is raw and painful, we also know this: those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history."
Obama has been slammed by political opponents - including John McCain, the defeated Republican presidential candidate - for his relatively cautious rhetoric on Iran.
McCain recently told a television interviewer: "I think the president can speak out far more strongly and I think he can reassert American values and our commitment to human rights."
Policy 'unchanged'
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Ban said he had "deep concern" about
the repression of protests [AFP] |
But while Obama's words were sharper, his policy has not changed.
He said the offer to engage the government in Tehran still stands.
He repeated his conviction that the US has "core national security interests" in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and ending its support for groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Meanwhile in New York, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said he had "deep concern" about violent repression of protests.
"Freedom of press, freedom of demonstration should be respected, protected and guaranteed in most fair and transparent manner," he said, speaking exclusively to Al Jazeera.
Respecting sovereignty
Obama stopped short of accusing the Iranian rulers of stealing the elections and said the US respects the country's sovereignty.
He said it was up to Iranians to decide the legitimacy of their government and dismissed suggestions that the protests are anything but home-grown.
"They are an obvious attempt to distract people from what is truly taking place within Iran’s borders," he said.
"This tired strategy of using tensions to scapegoat other countries won't work anymore in Iran.
"This is not about the United States and the West. This is about the people of Iran, and the future that they, and only they, will choose."
Obama said the US would continue to monitor the situation and that he would not be driven to change his position by criticism or political pressure.
"We don't yet know how this is going to play out," he said.
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