There are compelling reasons for Obama to stay relatively quiet as the unrest continues in Iran — thus avoiding the appearance of protesters there being “tools of the West,” which would strengthen the regime’s hand. But now, in the face of Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei‘s threats to protesters today, the president has responded, in an interview with CBS:
I’m very concerned based on some of the tenor — and tone of the statements that have been made — that the government of Iran recognize that the world is watching. And how they approach and deal with people who are, through peaceful means, trying to be heard will, I think, send a pretty clear signal to the international community about what Iran is and — and is not.
As Spencer Ackerman writes, the statement “continues the rhetorical move toward clarifying that only one side is responsible for the violence. But Obama frames it in a fairly non-confrontational way here.”
—Dana Goldstein
