Iran violence ‘outrageous’
TEHRAN — President Barack Obama on Friday praised the bravery of Iranians who protested against a disputed election in the face of “outrageous” violence, while a hardline Iranian cleric called for the execution of leading “rioters”.
Iran’s top legislative body, which had said it found no major violations in the presidential election which set off the worst unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, said 10% of ballot boxes would be recounted.
Authorities have rejected a call for annulment of the vote by reformist former prime minister Mirhossein Mousavi who led mass protests after he was declared a distant second behindPresident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after the poll two weeks ago.
Mr. Obama, whose administration along with major powers is locked in a row with Iran over its nuclear programme, said hopes for U.S. dialogue with Iran would be affected by the post-election crackdown.
“There is no doubt that any direct dialogue or diplomacy with Iran is going to be affected by the events of the last several weeks,” Mr. Obama told a White House news conference, adding: “We don’t yet know how any potential dialogue will have been affected until we see what has happened inside of Iran.”
Iranian authorities have used a combination of warnings, arrests and the threat of police action to drive mass rallies off Tehran’s street since Saturday with smaller gatherings dispersed with tear gas and baton charges.
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