Obama news conference: He saw the bloody video from Iran

President Obama was asked if he had seen the graphic video, widely circulated on the Internet, of Neda Agha-Soltan, the protester shot to death during a demonstration in Iran.

Yes, he had.

“Heartbreaking,” Obama said. “It’s heartbreaking. I think that anybody who sees it knows there’s something fundamentally unjust about that.”

Obama had alluded to her when he opened the news conference, and the Iranian protests were a recurring theme today. More than once, Obama said he was concerned about the crackdown by authorities on the protesters challenging Iran’s recent election results: “I think it’s important for us to make sure the Iranian people know we are watching.”

Obama concluded the White House news conference soon after.

This wraps up our live blogging of the news conference as well. Keep visiting latimes.com for more coverage and analysis. Transcripts of the president’s prepared remarks and his exchanges with the press corps will be available later on the Ticket.

-- Steve Padlla

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press

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Comments

[Jeff Taylor]

They call you Nena, an angel from heaven,
here to lift our hearts
Oh how we cried to see you fall!
Just a young girl
And yet as your heart was pierced
Something pierced ours
We awoke to the reality that life is fragile
And yet so precious
Our thoughts turned to father, mother, brother, sister
We claimed you as our sister
And cried out with your fiancee
"Be not afraid!"
Oh how we wished not to see you go
Yet in leaving us you have emboldened us
Our hearts now beat in cadence with yours
Beating with your final beats
The hopes and dreams of days to come
When oppression will cease
And we will see your eyes still open
Saying it was worth it - "I was not afraid."

[Khan Krum]

One reason President Obama may be reluctant to speak out against the Islamic Republic is due to his own Sunni cultural background -- remember that Iran is predominately Shia. Even though he left it and moved on to become a member of the Disciples of Christ and Unitarian, it still may have a bearing on his outlook (and possibly prejudice). A person's cultural past will always have an influence on them, so let's not be so quick to judge him.