U.S. lawmakers condemn post-election violence in Iran

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WASHINGTON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives adopted on Friday a resolution, condemning "the ongoing violence" by Iranian authorities and Tehran's "suppression of independent electronic communications through interference with the Internet and cell phones."

The resolution expressed support for "all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties and rule of law," and affirmed "the importance of democratic and fair elections."

Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters that "it is not for us to decide who should run Iran, much less determine the real winner of the June 12 election. But we must reaffirm our strong belief that the Iranian people have a fundamental right to express their views about the future of their country freely and without intimidation."

Also on Friday, the White House said that the United State remains hoping to have nuclear talks with Iran. The Obama administration does not believe that the post-election uncertainty in Iran will stop reaching out to Tehran over its nuclear program, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his senior aides shunned direct comment on Iran's latest elections which was criticized by opposition parties as fraud.

"It's not productive given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations to be seen as meddling," Obama told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

Supporters of Iran's defeated presidential election candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi have been protesting against the election result since it was announced on Saturday. Some protesters, who rejected the election as fraudulent, clashed with anti-riot police in Tehran

Early this week, Iran banned foreign journalists from news coverage in Tehran following street protests against Iran's presidential election result. Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered the Guardian Council to investigate the claims of fraud in the recent presidential elections.