WASHINGTON // Barack Obama yesterday offered his strongest condemnation yet of Iranian authorities, saying the United States was "appalled and outraged" by the brutal crackdown on protesters, though he stopped short of calling for a new election and reiterated that the United States will not meddle in Iran's affairs.
"I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost," Mr Obama said at a White House news conference, adding that the Iranian government's tactics have violated "international norms". The stepped-up rhetoric represents a gradual hardening of Mr Obama's stance as the situation in the Islamic republic has deteriorated following the disputed June 12 election. But Mr Obama continued to tread cautiously, declining to say whether he thought the election was rigged.
"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," he said. "The Iranian people can speak for themselves. That is precisely what has happened these last few days." Mr Obama also said the possibility of future diplomatic talks, a major part of his foreign policy, remains on the table. "We have provided a path whereby Iran can reach out to the international community, engage and become a part of international norms," Mr Obama said. "It is up to them to make a decision as to whether they choose that path."
Many have dissected the president's words in recent days, with some praising his nuanced, hands-off approach and others, including many Republicans, urging him to speak out more forcefully. On a Sunday appearance on ABC's This Week, Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, called Mr Obama's response "timid and passive". John McCain, Mr Obama's rival for the presidency last November, has emerged as a particularly strong critic. On Monday he told Fox News that Mr Obama could "speak out far more strongly". He also took to the Senate floor to tell the story of Neda Agha Solton, the 26-year-old Iranian woman whose death from a gunshot wound was captured on a cell phone video camera and has become a rallying cry for the protesters.
"So, Mr President, today I and all America pays tribute to a brave young woman who was trying to exercise her fundamental human rights and was killed on the streets of Tehran," Mr McCain said. "All Americans are with her." Mr Obama yesterday said that he too had seen the video, calling it "heartbreaking". "Anybody who sees it knows there is something fundamentally unjust about that," he said. When asked if Ms Agha Solton's murder constituted a violation of human rights by the Iranian government, Mr Obama said: "I think when a young woman gets shot on the streets ? that's a problem."
But the US president also took exception to some of the recent criticism, including suggestions by legislators that he has not been tough enough. "Members of Congress, they've got their constitutional duties and I am sure they will carry them out in a way that they think is appropriate. "I'm president of the United States, I'll carry out my duties as I think are appropriate," he said, maintaining that he has been "entirely consistent" on Iran.
On Saturday, Mr Obama issued a statement condemning the Iranian government for "violent and unjust actions against its own people," though he did not make any public appearances to discuss the matter. The US president refrained from making comments on Monday, as the Iranian security forces turned out in force on the streets of Tehran. European leaders, meanwhile, stiffened their criticism of the Iranian regime. On Monday, European nations warned Iranian diplomats against continuing the violence against demonstrators. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has called the situation in Iran "extremely alarming" and the clampdown on demonstrators "totally disproportionate." Angela Merkel has called for a recount of votes.
Mr Obama did not go as far yesterday, saying there are "significant questions" about the legitimacy of the election but carefully adding that it is impossible to "say definitely" what happened at the polls. Christian Whiton, a deputy special envoy at the US state department during the Bush administration who has been a leading critic of Mr Obama's approach, applauded the president's tougher tone yesterday but said he still did not go far enough.
"The president's rhetoric is much improved, and that is significant, but we've yet to see any announcement of diplomatic or other action to aid reformers, prevent violence or seek a fair election," said Mr Whiton, now a policy advisor to the Foreign Policy Initiative, a conservative think tank in Washington. Mr Whiton believes the United States should reject the election results and call for a new one, as it did during the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine. He said Mr Obama should also make direct contact with Mir Hossein Mousavi, consider providing dissenters with financial support, and convene congresses of reformers outside of Iran to express US solidarity
"Implying we won't act until we know how this plays out is akin to saying to the Iranian people that they're on their own," Mr Whiton said. "But they deserve the support of the outside world." @Email:sstanek@thenational.ae