Obama: Iran Violence May Endanger Direct Talks

Dismisses Ahmadinejad Call for Apology

Though the situation in Iran has calmed considerably over the past few days, President Barack Obama used today as an opportunity to again lash out at the Iranian government for what he called the “outrageous” violence of the past week.

President Obama has made various non-specific proposals for direct diplomacy between the US and Iran in the past, but now says the chances of that happening have been harmed by the post-election violence and that he is waiting to see how the disputed election in Iran “plays itself out in the days and weeks ahead” before deciding whether or not to follow through on his repeated promises of talks.

The proposals for talks have been stalled by Iran’s election, as the candidates avoided committing to the US proposals for talks. Since then Iran has accused the US of meddling in its post election affairs in funding various dissident groups.

Iranian President Ahmadinejad has demanded an apology from Obama for his post election comments, which Obama today dismissed, saying Ahmadinejad “might want to consider looking at the families of those who’ve been beaten or shot or detained.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.