Obama to BBC Persia: Ahmadinejad Speech Was 'Offensive and Hateful'
Alex Wagner
White House Correspondent
Posted:
09/24/10
Following Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial remarks at Thursday's meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama on Friday called the statements "offensive and hateful" and "inexcusable" in an interview with the BBC's Persian network.
Ahmadinejad questioned the 9/11 attacks, suggesting they might have been the result of a conspiracy to "reverse the declining American economy and its grips on the Middle East in order also to save the Zionist regime." In response, the U.S. delegation walked out during Ahmadinejad's address -- a show of defiance and displeasure.
Obama told BBC interviewer Bahman Kalbasi that "Particularly for him to make the statement here in Manhattan, just a little north of Ground Zero -- where families lost their loved ones, people of all faiths, all ethnicities who see this as the seminal tragedy of this generation -- for him to make a statement like that was inexcusable."
The interview, which was broadcast on both television and radio in Iran, was also an effort by the commander in chief to speak directly to the Iranian people, making clear that his administration remains open to dialogue with the country's government and explaining the objectives behind recently passed sanctions, White House officials said.
"We are willing to reach out with an open hand to the Iranian government and the Iranian people, because we believe that there's nothing inevitable that should cause Iran and the United States to be enemies." But Obama used strong language to denounce statements made by the Iranian leader the day before, calling Ahmadinejad's remarks "offensive and hateful."
The president's stern language echoed that of a short statement released by the U.S. delegation to the U.N. following Ahmadinejad's speech: "Rather than representing the aspirations and goodwill of the Iranian people, Mr. Ahmadinejad has yet again chosen to spout vile conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic slurs that are as abhorrent and delusional as they are predictable."
Obama noted that "obviously outrageous, disgusting statements of the sort that Mr. Ahmadinejad just made makes the American people understandably wary of any dealings with the Iranian government." Despite the tenor of these responses, the White House confirmed that it was still open to dialogue with the Iranian government regarding its nuclear program and the sanctions imposed both multilaterally by the U.N. and unilaterally by the American government. But the administration remained firm that it was looking for concrete action by Iran ensure that it would not seek to develop a nuclear weapons program.
Ahmadinejad questioned the 9/11 attacks, suggesting they might have been the result of a conspiracy to "reverse the declining American economy and its grips on the Middle East in order also to save the Zionist regime." In response, the U.S. delegation walked out during Ahmadinejad's address -- a show of defiance and displeasure.
Obama told BBC interviewer Bahman Kalbasi that "Particularly for him to make the statement here in Manhattan, just a little north of Ground Zero -- where families lost their loved ones, people of all faiths, all ethnicities who see this as the seminal tragedy of this generation -- for him to make a statement like that was inexcusable."
The interview, which was broadcast on both television and radio in Iran, was also an effort by the commander in chief to speak directly to the Iranian people, making clear that his administration remains open to dialogue with the country's government and explaining the objectives behind recently passed sanctions, White House officials said. "We are willing to reach out with an open hand to the Iranian government and the Iranian people, because we believe that there's nothing inevitable that should cause Iran and the United States to be enemies." But Obama used strong language to denounce statements made by the Iranian leader the day before, calling Ahmadinejad's remarks "offensive and hateful."
The president's stern language echoed that of a short statement released by the U.S. delegation to the U.N. following Ahmadinejad's speech: "Rather than representing the aspirations and goodwill of the Iranian people, Mr. Ahmadinejad has yet again chosen to spout vile conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic slurs that are as abhorrent and delusional as they are predictable."
Obama noted that "obviously outrageous, disgusting statements of the sort that Mr. Ahmadinejad just made makes the American people understandably wary of any dealings with the Iranian government." Despite the tenor of these responses, the White House confirmed that it was still open to dialogue with the Iranian government regarding its nuclear program and the sanctions imposed both multilaterally by the U.N. and unilaterally by the American government. But the administration remained firm that it was looking for concrete action by Iran ensure that it would not seek to develop a nuclear weapons program.