Reporting from Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday defended U.S. efforts to ensure that the Twitter social networking service has remained available for use by Iranian protesters, even as Tehran complained about U.S. interference in its affairs.
Clinton said that Twitter has been essential in allowing Iranian protesters, especially the young, to remain in touch in the aftermath of last week's disputed presidential election.
State Department officials earlier this week urged Twitter to delay scheduled maintenance work to avoid interrupting its service in Iran.
"I wouldn't know a Twitter from a tweeter, but apparently, it is very important," Clinton said during an appearance with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
Clinton said she considered it important to keep "that line of communication open and enabling people to share information, particularly at a time when there [were] not many other sources of information. . . . It is a fundamental right for people to be able to communicate." Iranians protesting the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been using the medium to organize demonstrations because they do not have access to other communications.
Iran's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents U.S. interests in the country in the absence of formal American-Iranian ties, to protest "interventionist" U.S. statements.
The officials didn't specify statements that drew their protests. President Obama said Tuesday that the continuing protests showed that "Iranian people are not convinced [of] the legitimacy of the election." Clinton said it was up to Iranians to "resolve this internal protest," but said U.S. officials were committed to pursue ways of engaging the government in Tehran.
paul.richter@latimes.com
