NEW YORK — As hundreds of people protested the appearance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday,

former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said the Obama administration is doing “almost nothing” to protect Iranians from the violence of their own regime.

 

 

At the entrance to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza across from the U.N., a same-sex “wedding” was staged mocking the alliance of Syria and Iran. A protester posing as ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi presided over the ceremony, with yellow cake served to onlookers, representing the uranium used to make nuclear weapons.

 

The pavement of the plaza was covered with huge banners, one of which read: “Down With the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Children stomped on a poster of Ahmadinejad.

 

As Ahmadinejad was about to address the General Assembly, Bolton told The Associated Press that the United States had failed to stop Iran from torturing and killing its own people.

 

“We expect that our commitment to the people of Iran is going to be upheld,” he said. “Right now, the Obama administration is doing almost nothing.”

 

Bolton added that the recent release of two American hikers held for years by Iran was what he called “just Broadway theater.”

‌ • Writer:By VERENA DOBNIK
 • Source: By VERENA DOBNIK ‌