Obama calls Iran tampering allegations "absurd" (1st Lead)

Washington - US President Barack Obama on Tuesday called Iran's accusations that his administration is behind the protests over the election 'patently false and absurd' and, in some of the sharpest language yet, condemned the violent crackdown on demonstrations. Obama charged Iran with attempting to 'scapegoat' the United States in order to give the impression the protestors are a proxy of the United States. 'The Iranian people are trying to have a debate about their future. Some in the Iranian government are trying to avoid that debate by accusing the United States and others outside of Iran of instigating protests over the elections,' Obama said. 'These accusations are patently false and absurd.' 'They are an obvious attempt to distract people from what is truly taking place within Iran's borders,' Obama said. 'This tired strategy of using old tensions to scapegoat other countries wont work anymore in Iran.' Tens of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets since the June 12 election accusing the government of rigging the results to ensure the victory of hardliner incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over reformist Mir-Hossein Moussavi. Since the protests erupted, Obama has vocally supported the right of the demonstrators to express their opinions, but sharpened his tone during a White House press conference, warning Iran that the entire is closely watching and that Iran's handling of the dispute will affect its relationship with other countries. 'No iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to peaceful protests of justice,' Obama said. Obama has pledged to pursue direct dialogue with Iran over a host of issues, most notably the Islamic state's nuclear programme. He said Tuesday Tehran must make a decision over how to engage the West. 'What we've been seeing over the last several days, the last couple of weeks, obviously is not encouraging in terms of the path that this regime may choose to take,' he said.