US President Barack Obama urges Arab allies to follow Egypt’s example

US President Barack Obama urged autocratic Middle Eastern allies to look to Egypt's example on Tuesday and encouraged the Iranian people to pursue their quest for democracy.

"You can't maintain power through coercion," Obama said in a stark message to Arab allies of the United States as protests raged in Algeria, Bahrain and Yemen following the ouster of presidents in Egypt and Tunisia. "At some level, in any society, there has to be consent," Obama told a White House press conference.

"Real change in these societies is not going to happen because of terrorism. It's not going to happen because you go around killing innocents. It's going to happen because people come together and apply moral force to a situation," Obama said. "We have sent a strong message to our allies in the region saying let's look at Egypt's example, as opposed to Iran's example."

The US President said that Egypt was moving in the right direction after the country's military pledged to work toward political reforms and elections, days after protests toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. "Egypt's going to require help in building democratic institutions and also in strengthening the economy that's taken a hit as a consequence of what happened," he said. "But so far at least, we're seeing the right signals coming out of Egypt."

Obama also praised the military leadership for reaffirming Egypt's international treaties. "Obviously there's still a lot of work to be done in Egypt itself. What we've seen so far is positive."