AP Interview: Ahmadinejad says he regrets protester deaths, but Iranian gov’t not to blame

Ahmadinejad tells AP he regrets protester deaths

NEW YORK — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he regrets the deaths of protesters in the violence that followed his country’s disputed presidential elections.

But he denied that his government had any role in the killings.

Ahmadinejad said those who died were “not at fault.” He instead said the responsibility lies with Iranian opposition politicians and with “European and American politicians” who he said fueled the violence.

“We believe what they did was very wrong,” he said.

Pro-reform opposition has staged dramatic protests, claiming that Ahmadinejad’s victory in the June voting was fraudulent. The Iranian government waged a bloody crackdown and opposition groups say at least 72 protesters were killed. Government officials maintain that only 36 people died, and Ahmadinejad repeated that claim.

“It is all very regrettable,” Ahmadinejad told the AP, adding that he has directed Iran’s judicial system to investigate each death. “The goverment has no role in these events.”