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Obama Administration Quick To Chide Iran on Elections

The Obama administration will not withhold its criticism if Iran cracks down during its presidential elections.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on national security and foreign policy priorities for the 2014 international affairs budget, on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 18, 2013. Kerry on Thursday asked senators pressing for tougher sanctions over Iran's nuclear ambitions to be patient, saying there is uncertainty in the Islamic republic two months before its June 14 election.   REUTERS/Jason Reed     (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTXYQVB

Widely criticized for muting its initial response to Iran’s 2009 crackdown on post-election protesters, President Barack Obama's administration has been quicker and harder off the mark this time while taking other steps to show its support for ordinary Iranians.

With voting still weeks away, Secretary of State John Kerry harshly chided Iran for its unusual system of vetting presidential candidates. In response to a question at a news conference in Israel on May 24, Kerry said, “I can’t think of anybody in the world looking at Iran’s election who wouldn’t be amazed by a process by which an unelected Guardian Council, which is unaccountable to the Iranian people, has actually disqualified hundreds of candidates, potential candidates, according to very vague criteria, which the Iranian people are not privileged to know or judge by.”

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