State Department says US is ‘deeply troubled’ by reports of postelection violence in Iran
By APMonday, June 15, 2009
US called ‘deeply troubled’ by events in Iran
WASHINGTON — The State Department says the U.S. is deeply troubled by reports of violence and arrests in Iran following the disputed outcome of its presidential election.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Monday that the United States also is concerned about allegations of ballot fraud.
Kelly described the U.S. government as “deeply troubled” by the events in Iran, which is a stronger expression of concern than over the weekend when Vice President Joe Biden cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election.
When pressed by a reporter, Kelly declined to condemn the Iranian security forces for their crackdown on street protesters. And he said the U.S. knows too little about the conduct of the election to say for sure whether there was fraud.
