Reactions to Obama’s Election
With the finality in US presidential elections, some Iranian officials have expressed their hope that President elect Barack Obama will now implement the “policy of change” that he has promised.
Contrary to the prediction of Iran’s president three months ago that “I do not think the will let Obama become the next US President,” on Wednesday morning (Iranian tie) Barack Obama was pronounced as the forty fourth president of the United States of America. In Iran, a number of officials made comments on this event.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manoutchehr Mottaki said, “The election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the US is a clear indication of the desire and aspiration of the people of that country for basic changes in America’s domestic and foreign policies,” adding that he hoped that the new US administration would succeed in meeting the wishes of the American people which have been distanced through the wrong policies of current American politicians.
Iran’s former Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel said that the election of Barack Obama indicated the defeat of American policies across the world, and added, “Americans are forced to make changes in their policies because of the quagmire created by Bush. This victory is the reality of American failure across the world.” Fars news agency which quoted Adel reminded its readers that, “Obama entered the race with the rhetoric that we need change and the victory of this call is the acknowledgement of the American nation that Bush’s policies in the world have failed.”
The first deputy Speaker of Iran’s Majlis Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi-fard interpreted the election of Barack Obama to be indicative of the failure of American policies across the world, and said, “By using the failed experience of Bush and his wrong policies in the Middle East, Obama can undertake to correct this behavior.” According to Abutorabi-fard, US policies towards Iran’s nuclear issue, the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and support for Israel “have led to America’s isolation among the nations of Asia, Islamic world, and independent and freedom-loving states.
Hamid-reza Haji Babai, a leadership member of the Majlis pointed to the election of Barack Obama to the presidency in the US and referenced his campaign slogans adding, to AFP news agency, that “Iran now awaits change. Obama has promised change and we await that change.” Babai added, “During the last eight years, through militarism and this financial crises George Bush has created a bad atmosphere around the world against the US and the election of McCain would have made matters worse.”
In a related news, after the announcement of Obama’s victory, Iran’s Joint Chief of Staff issued a communiqué to US commanders in Iraq, which semi-state Fars news agency called “a warning” and an internet news site affiliated to the Principalists (i.e. Iranian idealogues) called it the “response of Iran to Obama.”
This communiqué writes, “It has been observed recently that US Army helicopters engage in flights close to the Iraqi-Iranian border and because of the weaving border line between the two countries, it is possible that they could stray into Iranian territory. Therefore, forces in charge of patrolling the borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran would respond to any intrusion. Therefore this is a warning to change the helicopter flight paths to a safe distance so that the danger of a mistake does not take place.”
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