U.S. President Barack Obama says world leaders meeting at a global summit unanimously condemned what he called the "appalling treatment of peaceful protesters" by Iranian authorities.Mr. Obama delivered the message Friday, at a news conference following the Group of Eight summit in Italy.
He said some behavior by Iranian authorities violates "basic international norms," including storming embassies and putting restrictions on journalists.
His comments come a day after police clashed with demonstrators who had gathered near Tehran University to mark the 10th anniversary of a student uprising.
Iranian state media say hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the site, but other news agencies say thousands turned out for the protests.
Mr. Obama also said G8 leaders remain deeply troubled by Iran's nuclear program, which many in the international community believe is aimed at building weapons. Iran says its program is for peaceful civilian purposes.
Opposition demonstrations broke out in Iran following the June 12 vote, which reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and his supporters say was fraudulent. They have refused to accept official results that show incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad winning by a landslide.
Iranian police have detained more than 1,000 political activists, journalists, and others who authorities say were linked to post-election demonstrations. Officials say most of them have been released.
No comments:
Post a Comment