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Jun 17 2009

US sees both Iran rivals as hostile

Global

By Agencies

Violent protests have rocked Tehran after last week's disputed election [AFP]

The US president has played down differences between Iran's two main presidential election rivals, saying both were hostile towards the US.

Barack Obama said on Tuesday that he would continue his policy of "tough diplomacy" towards Tehran, as protests in support of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, and his rival Mir Hossein Mousavi, continued.

"It's important to understand that although there is amazing ferment taking place in Iran, the difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised," Obama told CNBC news.

"Either way we were going to be dealing with an Iranian regime that has historically been hostile to the United States, that has caused some problems in the neighbourhood and has been pursuing nuclear weapons," Obama said.

Tens of thousands of anti- and pro-government demonstrators have gathered in Tehran as tensions deepened after Ahmadinejad was declared the runaway winner of presidential polls on Friday.

Obama also said he believed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, understood that there were deep concerns in Iran about the disputed poll, as the biggest opposition protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution escalated.

Twitter request

Despite Obama's vow not to meddle in Iran's internal affairs, the US government said it had asked mobile social networking site Twitter to delay scheduled maintenance.

The site has been used as a communication tool by protesters, especially since the Iranian government shut down many websites, cell phones and newspapers.

Twitter delayed Monday's scheduled maintenance, which would have taken place during daylight hours in Iran, and rescheduled it for Tuesday.

"They announced they were going to shut down their system for maintenance and we asked them not to," a US state department official said on condition of anonymity.

The firm however, said that US government pressure had not contributed significantly to its decision to delay the temporary shutdown.

"The decision to alter the maintenance schedule wasn't affected by any one voice. Twitter simply understood that the reliability of the platform has become critical in people's lives across the globe," it said.