15 June 2009
Iran Must Respect the Right of Its People to Peaceful Expression
Washington — The Obama administration is “deeply troubled” by news reports from Iran of violence and possible voting irregularities in the aftermath of the June 12 presidential election. The State Department says it is still assessing whether irregularities occurred, but spokesman Ian Kelly acknowledged that U.S. officials have doubts about the results.
“There has been doubt cast on the outcome of the elections. We see a real desire of the Iranian people to express themselves, to be involved in the political process, and that right needs to be respected,” Kelly told reporters June 15. The United States is also concerned over reports of “violent responses to peaceful protests,” he added.
The spokesman said it is difficult to develop a picture of what happened during the election because Iran did not allow international monitors to participate and the United States does not have diplomats in Iran. The Obama administration is currently consulting with others in the international community, especially the European Union (EU), over the developments inside Iran, he said.
EU officials reportedly have called for an inquiry into the conduct of the vote, and Kelly said Obama administration officials “have doubts about the election results.”
He said Iran “needs to take seriously these allegations and needs to examine these accusations very thoroughly.”
The official results were announced June 13, and they declared incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner with 63 percent of the vote. His nearest challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, received 34 percent. Since the results were announced, Iran has seen violent clashes between its security forces and opposition demonstrators, as well as huge public gatherings despite a government ban on protests.
According to Kelly, much of the information U.S. officials have has come through news reports that have shown “the reaction of some of the law enforcement authorities, news of access to the Internet being blocked and certain newspapers being closed.” Iran gained global attention for “the enthusiasm and robust debate these elections engendered,” and the spokesman said “the essential right of people to express themselves peacefully needs to be respected.”
He said the United States continues to have long-standing concerns over whether Iran will live up to its international obligations, particularly regarding its support for terrorism and its nuclear program.
The concerns over the nuclear program “are very serious concerns and get to the very heart of this administration’s priorities in terms of nonproliferation, concerns about the possibility of an arms race in that part of the world,” Kelly said.
Vice President Biden said the Obama administration will continue to pursue direct diplomacy with Iran, particularly within the context of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, collectively known as the P5+1.
Speaking June 14 on NBC’s Meet the Press, Biden said U.S. interests with Iran remain the same as before the election. The Obama administration wants Iran to “cease and desist from seeking a nuclear weapon and having one in its possession and, secondly, to stop supporting terrorists.”
Biden said President Obama has decided it is in the national security interests of the United States to talk with Iran’s leaders. “We are ready to participate, we are ready to talk,” but “talks with Iran are not a reward for good behavior.”
The vice president added that any discussion is “something that is going to be done with the regime. It's not being done with a single person,” and he doubted that anything “of consequence” can be done without the approval of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
