U.S. "deeply troubled" by Iran election outcome

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Monday it was very concerned by reports of violence and voting irregularities in Iran's election and urged Tehran to thoroughly investigate accusations of problems in the poll.

"We are deeply troubled by the reports of violence, arrests and possible voting irregularities," said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly, adding that Washington was still assessing what had happened in the election.

Kelly also criticized Iran's response to protests following the results of the presidential poll.

"We are calling for Iran's authorities to respect the right of people to express themselves peacefully," he said.

Kelly said serious doubts had been cast on the results of the election, in which incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had a resounding victory against his more moderate challenger, former prime minister Mirhossein Mousavi.

"We think that the authorities in Iran need to take these concerns seriously. They need to look into them. But I'm not going to stand here today and predict how we are going to judge, whatever the outcome is," said Kelly.

"We're hamstrung by the fact that Iran didn't allow international monitors. We don't have diplomats on the ground," he said.

The United States does not have diplomatic ties with Iran but the Obama administration has sought a new policy of engagement with Tehran.