Ahmadinejad vows to punish protest organizers
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said the opposition protests seen in Iranian cities on Monday are "going nowhere" and vowed to punish the organizers of anti-government protests.
Talking to the state television, Ahmadinejad accused the organisers of Monday's anti-regime protests of wanting "to tarnish the Iranian nation's brilliance."
"It is a shining sun. They threw some dust towards the sun," said Ahmadinejad. "It is funny. By throwing dust at the sun, the dust will return to their eyes."
Two people were killed and several wounded in clashes between protesters and security forces in central Tehran on Monday.
U.S. President Barack Obama criticized the response of the Iranian authorities.
"I find it ironic that you've got the Iranian regime pretending to celebrate what happened in Egypt, when in fact they have acted in direct contrast to what happened in Egypt by gunning down and beating people who were trying to express themselves peacefully," said Obama.
Barack Obama also offered encouragement to protesters, saying he hoped they would have the "courage" to keep expressing their "yearning for greater freedoms."
