Obama harshly condemns Iran crackdown on protesters

By John Whitesides and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama toughened his criticism of Iran on Tuesday for its crackdown on anti-government protesters, harshly condemning the violence and declaring scenes of death in Tehran "heartbreaking."

At his fourth White House news conference, Obama also said he was still optimistic about the prospects in Congress for an overhaul of the costly U.S. healthcare system and urged lawmakers to pass a comprehensive climate change bill.

The Democratic president, facing heavy criticism from Republicans that he was being too timid in backing street protests over Iran's contested election, said the United States was "appalled and outraged" by the violence.

"I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost," Obama said.

He called the video of an Iranian women killed in the streets, which has become a staple of news coverage of the protests, "heartbreaking" and said it made clear the violence against the protesters was "fundamentally unjust."

"In 2009, no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to the peaceful pursuit of justice," he said.

Asked why it took him so long to express his outrage, Obama said the U.S. approach had been consistent and he did not want to hurt the protesters by aligning them with the United States.

"Ultimately, the most important thing for the Iranian government to consider is legitimacy in the eyes of its own people," he said.