President Barack Obama’s chief of staff said on Sunday that the election of Iranian President Hassan Rohani was a “potentially hopeful sign,” and that if he lived up to his obligation “to come clean on this illicit nuclear program, he will find a partner in us.”
Speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Denis McDonough said: “If he (Rohani) is interested in, as he has said in his campaign, mending Iran’s relations with the rest of the world, there is an opportunity to do that.”
The Obama administration has said it respected the results of the presidential election in Iran, even though it had been conducted under restrictive conditions, with complete control of the candidates slate by the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei.
Shortly after the cleric Hasan Rowhani was declared the winner, White House spokesman Jay Carney congratulated Iranians for their courage in voting.
According to Fox News, he said Iranians were determined to make their voices heard, despite the limitations the ruling government imposed on the political process.
In a statement, Carney said the election took place against the backdrop of a lack of transparency, censorship of the media, Internet, and text messages, and an intimidating security environment that limited freedom of expression and assembly.
He added that despite those obstacles, Iranians were determined to act to shape their future.
Carney said that the US hoped that Iran’s new government will heed the will of the Iranian people and make responsible choices that create a better future for them.