Gates has wait-and-see stance on Iranian election
Anne GearanU.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Obama administration is closely watching the election in Iran but that policies are more significant than personalities in dealings with the Persian Gulf nation.
At a news conference during a NATO meeting in Belgium, Gates was asked his view of the balloting Friday in which voters were choosing between hardline incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hossein Mousavi, a reformist who favors greater freedoms and improved ties with the United States.
Gates said he believes Washington is "interested in seeing the policies that the Iranian government follows." He also said that "no matter who is elected, we would wait and see what kind of policies are followed by that person. It's less dependent on personalities than it is the policies that the leaders follow."