US President George W. Bush urged Tehran to abandon "uncompromising, destructive policies" and pledged that a reforming, modernizing Iran would have "no better friend" than the United States.
"As we have witnessed over the past few days, the people of Iran want the same freedoms, human rights, and opportunities as people around the world. Their government should listen to their hopes," the American leader said in a statement.
Bush said that a "vast majority" of Iranian voters "voted for political and economic reform" in recent presidential, parliamentary and local elections. "Yet their voices are not being listened to by the unelected people who are the real rulers of Iran. Uncompromising, destructive policies have persisted," said Bush.
Bush cited repression of students, journalists and lawmakers who push for reform or criticize the regime; suppression of media; and rampant joblessness that drives "talented students and professionals" out of Iran. "As Iran's people move towards a future defined by greater freedom, greater tolerance, they will have no better friend that the United States," said Bush.
The president's statement came as the Islamic regime in Tehran grappled with unprecedented political tension following the resignation of a top cleric who blasted the Islamic state and its dominant conservative clergy, AFP reported.
Thousands of people rallied in support of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he appealed for calm Friday in an attempt to defuse growing political tension. State radio repeatedly broadcast Friday the text of a letter Khamenei wrote to Ayatollah Jalaledin Taheri, prayer leader in the central city of Isfahan, accepting his resignation and agreeing with some of his strong criticism of the regime.
Khamenei, however, warned Taheri of the consequences of dissent. Khamenei recalled the fate of Iran's most senior dissident cleric, Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, who has been under house arrest since 1997 after he questioned the legitimacy of clerical rule, including that of Khamenei.
"We all remember what happened to one of the late Imam's (Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini) disciples who was banned from political affairs by the late Imam," he said in a message in response to criticism from Taheri. The message, reported by the official Islamic Republic News Agency, was Khamenei's first direct response to Taheri. (Albawaba.com)
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