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U.S. President Barack Obama.
 AP
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Last update - 10:09 17/06/2009
Obama: Not much difference between Ahmadinejad, Mousavi
By Reuters
Tags: Twitter, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 

Wading into Iranian politics, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday there appeared to be few policy differences between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and rival Mirhossein Mousavi.

Obama's comments came as thousands of Mousavi supporters took to the streets in Tehran for a fourth day of protests over Friday's disputed Iranian presidential elections.

So far, Obama has been cautious in opining about the candidates, telling reporters earlier on Tuesday he did not want to be seen as "meddling" in Iranian internal affairs.
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But in a television interview later on Tuesday, the U.S. president let known his views and said he expected a tough time in any future negotiations with Iran no matter who was in the government.

"The difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised," he told CNBC.

"Either way we are going to be dealing with an Iranian regime that has historically been hostile to the United States," he added.

Several U.S. analysts have been cautioning for weeks against any giddy optimism over a Mousavi win and said he should not be seen as an easy sell in any negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at building a bomb and Tehran says is peaceful.

The Obama administration has been grappling with how to approach the election turmoil in Iran, where the country's top legislative body said on Tuesday it was ready to recount votes amid the biggest street protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Both Obama and other senior officials have expressed concern over a clampdown on protests but have also sought not to be seen as injecting the United States into the drama.

State Department and Twitter
The State Department confirmed on Tuesday that it had contacted the social networking service Twitter to urge it to delay a planned upgrade that would have cut daytime service to Iranians who are disputing their election.

Twitter and Facebook have been used by many young people to coordinate protests over the election's outcome. Obama himself used these networking tools in his own campaign to spread his political message before being elected.

Twitter Inc said in a blog post it delayed a planned upgrade because of its role as an "important communication tool in Iran." The hourlong maintenance was put back to 5 p.m. EDT/2100 GMT, which corresponds to 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Iran.

The upgrade originally had been planned for Monday night in the United States, which would have cut daytime service in Iran on Tuesday.

The State Department declined to give details of its contact with Twitter, which has been used particularly by young urban Iranians who dispute Ahmadinejad's re-election.

"We highlighted to them that this was an important form of communication," said a State Department official of the conversation the department had with Twitter officials.

Any sign of U.S. involvement in the actions of Twitter or any other social networking service could be seized on by Iran as U.S. interference in the electoral process.

But State Department spokesman Ian Kelly strongly rejected that contacts to Twitter amounted to meddling in Iranian internal affairs.

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      1.   Stupid headline (Lie) 06:32  |  John 17/06/09
      2.   Staying out of it with a finger on the scales 06:33  |  Mark Lincoln 17/06/09
      3.   Ahmadinejad or Mousavi : The West should wake up! 07:12  |  Lane 17/06/09
      4.   Not much difference between Bush, Obama 07:40  |  RN 17/06/09
      5.   The Real Question Is... 07:57  |  Heather Czerniak 17/06/09
      6.   How discouraging for Mousavi protesters 08:09  |  sharon 17/06/09
      7.   Lies 08:18  |  Walt 17/06/09
      8.   #4 Heather 08:19  |  BigBird 17/06/09
      9.   Heather in Milwaukee 08:28  |  Persian Kitty 17/06/09
      10.   4 Heather Czerniak - In Simple Terms 08:40  |  Mark of Lewiston 17/06/09
      11.   twittering the revolution 08:50  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 17/06/09
      12.   Not much difference for the Americans, but... 10:30  |  Shimon 17/06/09
      13.   To # 1 angry John of Toronto 10:53  |  Steve the Pals. 17/06/09
      14.   sorry Cipora Julianna Kohn #10 11:28  |  J.S 17/06/09
      15.   Headline not a lie per AP - No 1 12:00  |  Dov 17/06/09
      16.   Maybe Obama knows the elections WEREN`T rigged. 12:26  |  Michael 17/06/09
      17.   No 1 - Lie 12:54  |  Skandar 17/06/09
      18.   US should keep schtum 12:58  |  Roo 17/06/09
      19.   HE IS SMARTER THAN AHMADINEJAD, MORE SUBLIME ON POLICY 13:15  |  indrajaya 17/06/09
      20.   ANTI-AMERICA AND MORE ANTI-AMERICA 13:46  |  indrajaya 17/06/09
      21.   The People and The Choices 14:00  |  Ronnie Wolman 17/06/09
      22.   Obama 15:24  |  oz 17/06/09
      23.   Obama is Right 16:17  |  MIKE 17/06/09
      24.   There is no difference at all 16:39  |  Gee 17/06/09
      25.   There are differences-its the degree 17:23  |  American 17/06/09
      26.   mousavi 18:23  |  oz 17/06/09
      27.   all goverment is evil 18:58  |  bob 17/06/09
      28.   The Right can`t make up its mind 20:53  |  Pssd Off American 17/06/09
      29.   "Bigger Target"? Ronnie you are funny as ever 21:11  |  Iranian-american 17/06/09
      30.   #1 John - expect more. 06:15  |  Observer One 18/06/09
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