After the disputed June 2009 Iranian presidential election, Obama condemned the Iranian government's crackdown on the Iranian Green Movement opposition, a group of pro-democracy demonstrators. Obama stated: "we respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran, but "I am deeply troubled by the violence that I've been seeing on television. I think that the democratic process – free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent – all those are universal values and need to be respected." After more violent was directed at protesters, Obama stated: "The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings and imprisonments of the last few days" and issued a strong condemnation of "these unjust actions." Some critics, including his 2012 presidential campaign rival Mitt Romney, faulted Obama, saying that he should have done more to support the Green Movement. Others disagreed, noting that the Green Movement did not need or want direct foreign support, and arguing that direct U.S. backing for the Iranian opposition would likely "undermine its credibility, and perhaps even lend credence to the government’s assertion that the movement is a foreign-inspired plot that will rob Iran of its independence."