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Clinton says U.S. supported Iran protesters behind the scenes
Washington, 10 August (WashingtonTV)
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday defended Washingtons reaction to the post-election unrest in Iran , saying that the U.S. did a lot behind the scenes to show support for those demonstrators contesting the disputed election result.
In an interview with CNN broadcast yesterday, Clinton responded to suggestions that the U.S. had not done enough to support the protesters, by saying that the Obama administration did not want to get between the legitimate protests and demonstrations of the Iranian people and the leadership.
The administration also did not want to be used as a tool by the Iranian government to unify the county against the protesters, she added.
Now, behind the scenes, we were doing a lot, said Clinton, noting that the State Department had urged the social networking service, Twitter, to postpone a planned maintenance shutdown, so that it remained available for use by Iranians.
We were doing a lot to really empower the protesters without getting in the way. And were continuing to speak out and support the opposition, she added.
In Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hassan Qashqavi, today voiced regret over Americas support for rioters and terrorist groups, reports the official IRNA news agency.
Clinton also said that Washington was under no illusions regarding its diplomatic outreach toward Tehran, aimed at resolving the ongoing dispute over its nuclear program.
We were under no illusions before their elections that we could get the kind of engagement we are seeking were not just sitting here waiting for somebody in Iran to say lets talk, Clinton told CNN.
We are working with our allies to make the case that we need to have prepared a very robust set of sanctions that we can get the international community to sign off on, she added.
President Barack Obama has said that the U.S. and major powers want Iran to respond to the offer of nuclear negotiations by late September, when the United Nations General Assembly meeting takes place.
source: washingston TV