NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – Thousands rallied near the United Nations Tuesday to protest Iran’s new president Hasan Rouhani.
As WCBS 880′s Alex Silverman reported, the demonstrators waving their red, white and green Iranian flags were joined by some high-profile politicians who said Rouhani’s recent talk of opening dialogue with the United States is merely a ruse.
They say Iran has to show it’s moving away from trying to build a nuclear weapon before the United States opens any negotiations.
“If Obama thinks that he’s shaking the hands of a moderate, he’s actually shaking some bloody hands,” demonstrator Amir Emadi told Silverman. “Rouhani does not represent the Iranian people.”
He said his father was one of 52 people killed at a refugee camp in Iraq earlier this month at the behest of the Iranian president, Emadi said.
“These martyrs were murdered,” shouted former Rep. Patrick Kennedy. “Because they dared to dream of an Iran that had a democracy.”