LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- President Barack Obama has voiced concerns about election protests in Iran, and at least one Iranian-American said the violence is sad, but possibly unnecessary.

New Mexico State University has a program that welcomes people from Iran and helps them adjust to the American culture. I spoke with one of the leaders from that group who said his opinion may not be what you'd expect.

“What I see happening in the streets of Iran, whether valid or invalid, it's invalid to me because of the approach,” said Abbas Ghassemi, professor of energy and environment at NMSU

Ghassemi has lived in the U.S. for several years. He said in any country, safety for the masses is important.

“Lets say a few hundred or a few thousand people in El Paso didn't like certain things. Would it be appropriate for them to go out there and burn buses and throw rocks and burn homes and cause disorder? No,” he said.

Obama is appalled by the violence in Iran. Nearly 20 people have been killed, and Iranian officials threaten more attacks of tear gas and gunfire to crack down on protests.

“I have concern about how peaceful demonstrators and people who want their votes counted may be stifled from expressing those concerns,” Obama said.

But Ghassemi said in 2000, when both presidential candidates Al Gore and George Bush claimed victories, the courts solved the problems not protesters.

“Would we have allowed that, at that junction, for people who didn’t get their way to go in the street, burn busses and create all sorts of chaos and have it be supported by a third nation?” he said.

He said family members still in Iran have varying opinions on the presidency. That tells him that not all Iranians share the view that many see on their televisions. He said it is unfortunate that a handful of people were killed, but they are the unfortunate results of unruly crowds.

“The approach of going into the streets and behaving like thugs and hooligans and burning buses and doing the things against the code of normality in any culture or any country is not right,” he said.

Ghassemi said he has only an opinion to offer, and not the general consensus of all Iranian people in Las Cruces.

There will be a rally in support of the Iranian demonstrators this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the corner of Las Cruces and Church in Las Cruces.