World opinion divided on Iran

World reaction to the upheaval in Iran is cautious and divided, reflecting uncertainty over fast-moving events within the country after its disputed election.

International opinion is roughly divided between the Western line -- a pro-democratic stance that implies or levels criticism at Iran's leadership -- and economic allies, mostly among developing nations, that accept the election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Whatever the view, governments and commentators appear transfixed by the drama unfolding in Iran, where hundreds of thousands of supporters of pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi have challenged the old order in street protests unseen since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Some democracies, including the US, have been cautious, calling for the will of the Iranian people to be respected without overtly taking a side. Others have scolded the Iranian leadership, condemning alleged vote-rigging and the harsh response of security forces to opposition rallies.

President Barack Obama has expressed "concern for the way the election was conducted and concern to ensure that demonstrators can peaceably carry out their demonstrations," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday.

In contrast, China, Venezuela and some other developing countries have tended to be supportive of the government in Iran, whose nuclear activities, alleged involvement in terrorism and influence in regional conflicts have alarmed the West for years.

Chinese state media reported that President Hu Jintao congratulated Ahmadinejad at a regional gathering in Russia earlier this week. Asked Thursday whether that indicated China accepted the election results as legitimate, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said only: "We respect the choice of the Iranian people."

Editorials in state media have chastised the US for alleged intervention in Iranian politics.

"The international community, on its part, has to leave Iran's internal problems to the Iranian people, and accept their verdict," the official China Daily said in an editorial Thursday. China is keenly sensitive to outside criticism of its own authoritarian system.

Mindful of such accusations, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the Iranian people must choose their own leaders and that London would "not fall into the trap of allowing anyone to say that Britain or the United States is trying to choose the government of Iran."

London has a large Iranian population, and Mousavi supporters have held noisy protests outside the Iranian Embassy. But British politicians have steered clear of declaring either candidate the election winner.

"This is not a split between Iran and the West, these are deep debates, even divisions that are happening within Iran and in some ways within the upper reaches of the regime," Miliband said.

Israel, a longtime foe of Iran, has described the government there as repressive. But Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Thursday that there is a policy not to comment further on the situation in Iran, because "we don't want it to even appear that we have anything to do with what is going on there."

Some commentators have noted the complexities behind Iran's tumult.