Speaking on the civil war in Syria during an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan, Iranian President Ahmadinejad condemned the violence by saying, "We must all say enough of this violence, right now."
Ahmadinejad also stated that he is involved with bringing the two sides together for dialogue.
"We do believe that freedom, the right to choose, the right to vote, respect and justice is the fundamental right of all people. All people must obtain these rights. No one has the right to restrict a people and nation, but we believe as a friend of nations, we must help the nations around the world to obtain these rights through peaceful paths, though peaceful actions."
Meanwhile, within his own borders, the Iranian police continued to crack down on peaceful protests against the Iranian government.
Below is an article from USA Today outlining the situation and highlighting the hypocrisy of the statements that Ahmadinejad made during the CNN interview.
Riot police clashed with protesters in Iran today over the collapse of the rial, the country's currency, which has been hard hit by Western sanctions, the BBC and Reuters reports.
The BBC says police made many arrests and used tear gas to disperse protesters who had set fires to tires and trash bins in Tehran.
Witnesses tell the BBC Persian service that scores of people gathered outside Iran's central bank to call for its governor to resign and to chant anti-government slogans.
The BBC quotes financial experts as saying the rial [Iranian currency]-- which has lost a third of its value against the dollar in one week -- has been hard hit by Western financial sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear program.
This financial crisis over the precipitous drop in the value of the rial, and the concurrent protests against the Iranian government and central bank, is complimented with a report from Ynet News that the Iran regime has transferred roughly $10 billion to the Assad regime to pay the Syrian government troop salaries.
Despite the attempt to appeal to a more humanistic audience during his CNN interview, it is apparent that while President Ahmadinejad can talk the talk, his country's actions and the protest against those actions by the Iranian citizens defy the ability to walk the walk.