Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Mr Obama had spoken of change during his campaign but supported Israel’s three-week offensive against the Gaza Strip earlier this year that killed almost 1,500 Palestinians.
At the time, Mr Obama mostly deferred to Mr Bush when asked for his position, saying that there could only be one US president.
But he supported Israel’s right to defend itself from Palestinian rocket attacks during the campaign.
And speaking in Jerusalem on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton underlined Washington’s “unshakeable support for Israel.”
Addressing a Gaza solidarity conference in Tehran, Mr Khamenei said: “The new US president speaks of unconditional commitment to defend Israel’s security. This means the same wrong path as the Bush administration.”
He said that Israeli leaders should be put on trial for the Gaza offensive, which ended with a shaky ceasefire in mid-January.
Iran’s judiciary has asked Interpol to issue arrest warrants for 15 Israeli officials in connection with the onslaught.
Copyright Morning Star
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As discouraging, frustrating, and most of all, repugnant as it is witnessing the grovelling of US politicians before the Jewish-Israeli high court of king-makers in the American political process, as shocking as it is when one first comprehends the true meaning of the expression referring to the US Congress as “Israeli-occupied territory,” it is a total exercise in futility trying to push anything un-Kosher through, around, over or beneath the gateway reality of the ever vigilant Zionist machinery monitoring every aspect of American public life.
Therefore, those of us who are dedicated to seeing justice done in the Middle East still cling to hope that Obama shares our commitment. But we must for the time being give him the benefit of the doubt by recognizing that he alone is positioned to know the full force of those who oppose substantive changes in US Mideast policy. We must be pro-active in our support and encouragement at every step of the way, even while ever urging him to hew faithfully to those high-minded values so well articulated in his inaugural address suggesting a new even-handedness based on concepts of justice and equality without “us-them” distinctions or other considerations for the sake of political expediance.