TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the United States and Britain on Sunday to stop interfering in the Islamic Republic's internal affairs after its June 12 presidential election, the ISNA news agency said. Many Western countries and rights groups have criticized the election, which was won by Ahmadinejad according to official figures, and its aftermath. His main opponent Mirhossein Mousavi says the vote was rigged. The government denies the charge. "Definitely by hasty remarks you will not be placed in the circle of friendship with the Iranian nation. Therefore I advise you to correct your interfering stances," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in a meeting with clerics and scholars. Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, was directing his remark at U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, ISNA said. Obama, who has been trying to mend ties with Iran since taking office in January, has urged Tehran to "stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people." Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement, "I reject categorically the idea that the protesters in Iran are manipulated or motivated by foreign countries." German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Iranian leadership must allow peaceful protests and recount votes.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the United States and Britain on Sunday to stop interfering in the Islamic Republic's internal affairs after its June 12 presidential election, the ISNA news agency said.
Many Western countries and rights groups have criticized the election, which was won by Ahmadinejad according to official figures, and its aftermath. His main opponent Mirhossein Mousavi says the vote was rigged. The government denies the charge.
"Definitely by hasty remarks you will not be placed in the circle of friendship with the Iranian nation. Therefore I advise you to correct your interfering stances," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in a meeting with clerics and scholars.
Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, was directing his remark at U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, ISNA said.
Obama, who has been trying to mend ties with Iran since taking office in January, has urged Tehran to "stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people."
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement, "I reject categorically the idea that the protesters in Iran are manipulated or motivated by foreign countries."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Iranian leadership must allow peaceful protests and recount votes.
WASHINGTON -- Key Republicans on Sunday urged President Barack Obama to do more to support protesters in Iran who have been clashing with security forces there over election results, underscoring the challenge the president faces in trying to strike the right balance in addressing fast-moving events in the Mideast country. "The president of the United States is supposed to lead the free world, not follow it," said Sen. Lindsay Graham (R., S.C.), on ABC's "This Week," adding that Mr. Obama was being "timid and passive." Under criticism at home and abroad over his approach to the Iran protests, Mr. Obama kept administration officials off the Sunday morning talk shows, according to White House officials. Instead, he relied on Democratic surrogates from Congress, they said. Sens. Robert Casey (D., Pa.) and Evan Bayh (D., Ind.) defended the president's cautious approach on Iran, saying he was striking a difficult balance by expressing sympathy for the protesters while not giving weight to Teheran's claims that the protests were being orchestrated by Washington and Europe.
WASHINGTON -- Key Republicans on Sunday urged President Barack Obama to do more to support protesters in Iran who have been clashing with security forces there over election results, underscoring the challenge the president faces in trying to strike the right balance in addressing fast-moving events in the Mideast country.
"The president of the United States is supposed to lead the free world, not follow it," said Sen. Lindsay Graham (R., S.C.), on ABC's "This Week," adding that Mr. Obama was being "timid and passive."
Under criticism at home and abroad over his approach to the Iran protests, Mr. Obama kept administration officials off the Sunday morning talk shows, according to White House officials. Instead, he relied on Democratic surrogates from Congress, they said. Sens. Robert Casey (D., Pa.) and Evan Bayh (D., Ind.) defended the president's cautious approach on Iran, saying he was striking a difficult balance by expressing sympathy for the protesters while not giving weight to Teheran's claims that the protests were being orchestrated by Washington and Europe.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he would not second-guess U.S. President Barack Obama's approach on Iran, following the Tehran government's political crackdown. In an interview with NBC's Meet the Press, Netanyahu said that the world was sympathetic to the Iranians protesting the recent contested election, but added it was unclear whether the unrest would spur change in Tehran's policies. "I have no doubt everybody in the world is sympathetic to the Iranians' desire for freedom," Netanyahu said on NBC's "Meet the Press" when asked about the street demonstrations that have erupted in Iran since the disputed June 12 election.
This is just for internal consumption. Ahmadinejad's allegations of foreign interference are not going to impress anyone abroad (except possibly Hugo Chavez) but they will whip up patriotic fervour and paranoid delusion among those faithful to him and Khamenei, which is all that matters at this point. A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds; a man of deeds and not of words is like a garden full of turds — Anonymous
