Obama Repeats Rhetoric On Iran

In a joint news conference Friday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Barack Obama reiterated his position that he is taking a wait-and-see approach to the post-election chaos in Iran.

“We are still waiting to see how the situation in Iran plays out,” Obama said.

The President said that the prospect of Iran attaining a nuclear weapon in the near future is a big problem for both the U.S. and for security in the Middle East. He added that the post-election events of the past few weeks will impact the possibility of future dialogue between the U.S. and Iran.

Obama also mentioned that Iranian opposition candidate Hossein Mousavi has expressed interest in communicating directly with the White House. Obama did not say whether or not he has plans to speak with Mousavi.

When asked to respond to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad’s demand that the U.S. apologize for ripping his regime’s strong-arm treatment of election protestors, Obama said, “I don’t take Mr. Ahmadinejad’s comments seriously.” He later added, “I would suggest that Mr. Ahmadinejad think carefully about the obligations he owes to his own people.”

Obama neatly sidestepped a question later in the news conference about Ahmadinejad’s recent comparison of him to former President George W. Bush.

The President was asked one question about the recent spike in violence in Iraq to which he professed, “there will continue to be some violence in Iraq for some time.”

He then explained that the biggest challenge facing American forces in Iraq right now is not preventing attacks by al-Qaeda, but rather helping Sunnis and Shiites resolve their differences over geographical boundaries and oil revenues. The President did not field any follow-up questions on the subject.

Talk Radio News Service White House Correspondent Victoria Jones contributed to this report.