Officials Say President Obama Will Not Meet With Hasan Rouhani During UNGA
CBS, New York, 24 Sep 2013 – Thousands rallied near the United Nations Tuesday to protest Iran’s new president Hasan Rouhani.
As WCBS 880′s Alex Silverman reported, the demonstrators waving their red, white and green Iranian flags were joined by some high-profile politicians who said Rouhani’s recent talk of opening dialogue with the United States is merely a ruse.
They say Iran has to show it’s moving away from trying to build a nuclear weapon before the United States opens any negotiations.
“If Obama thinks that he’s shaking the hands of a moderate, he’s actually shaking some bloody hands, ”demonstrator Amir Emadi told Silverman. “Rouhani does not represent the Iranian people“.
He said his father was one of 52 people killed at a refugee camp in Iraq earlier this month at the behest of the Iranian president, Emadi said.
“These martyrs were murdered,”shouted former Rep. Patrick Kennedy. “Because they dared to dream of an Iran that had a democracy”.
Some have praised Rouhani for his more moderate views that his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
On Tuesday afternoon, U.S. officials said Rouhani and President Barack Obama will not meet while in New York for the UN General Assembly.
No U.S. and Iranian leaders have sat down together in 36 years.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and ex-United Nations Ambassador John Bolton were among the speakers at Tuesday’s protest.
“The UN and the U.S. have turned their backs on murder,” Giuliani said. “This must stop”.
“Before he considers shaking hands with this man, how much blood is on his hands?” Giuliani added.
He called Rouhani not a moderate but a mass-murderer whom America cannot trust, Silverman reported.
President Obama addressed the assembly Tuesday morning. He said Rouhani’s words would have to be matched with actions.
