U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday praised the bravery of Iranians who protested the results of Tehran's recent elections, calling it a "testament to their enduring pursuit of justice", Reuters reported.
"The rights of the Iranian people to assemble, to speak freely, to have their voices heard, those are universal aspirations," Obama said at a White House news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Their bravery in the face of brutality is a testament to their enduring pursuit of justice. The violence perpetrated against them is outrageous."
Obama said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chief rival, former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, had "captured the imagination" of Iranians who want to open up to the West.