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(CNN) -- U.S. President Obama and German Chancellor Angela
Merkel on Monday condemned this week's violent crackdown on
pro-democracy protesters in Iran.

In separate statements, the
two Western leaders called on Iran to abide by international
obligations to respect the rights of the Iranian people to demonstrate
for political change.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council
said eight people were killed in the latest series of clashes over the
weekend, making the unrest the deadliest since June.

"The
United States joins with the international community in strongly
condemning the violent and unjust suppression of innocent Iranian
citizens, which has apparently resulted in detentions, injuries, and
even death," Obama told journalists in a break from his Christmas holiday in Hawaii.

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