Iran Warns Opposition Against Protests
The Iranian government delivered a stern warning to the country’s
opposition Saturday against further protests of the disputed
presidential election.
The opposition had called for more
protests in Tehran and around the world, a day after Iran’s supreme
leader said the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must be
accepted.
Witnesses quoted by CNN and the French news agency (AFP)
report a heavy police presence at the site of a planned rally in the
capital, and the country’s Security Council told defeated presidential
candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi he will be responsible for “consequences
of illegal rallies.”
A senior police commander, Ahmad Reza Radan, said any protests will be dealt with firmly.
On
Friday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for an end to nearly a week of
massive street protests by opposition supporters who claim the June
12th presidential vote was rigged.
Iran’s Council of Guardians,
a powerful body that supervises the elections, convened a meeting
Saturday to discuss defeated candidates’ concerns about the election.
The Council invited Mr. Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Mohsen Rezaei, but
state media reported that only Rezaei attended.
State television
said the council agreed to randomly recount 10-percent of the ballots
in the presence of the candidates’ representatives.
Ayatollah
Khamenei defended the legitimacy of the election in his address during
Friday prayers, saying Mr. Ahmadinejad’s 11 million-vote margin is too
big to have been manipulated.
Protests involving hundreds of
thousands of people at times have turned violent. Iran has confirmed
at least seven protesters were killed Monday during clashes with
pro-government militia. Amnesty International says it has recorded at
least 10 killings.
Friday, Human Rights Watch issued a statement
calling on Iran’s government to end its “nationwide crackdown on
opposition activity.” The New York-based rights group says scores of
reformist politicians, activists and journalists have been arrested
this week.
^Iranian woman during
protest against election win of President Ahmadinejad in front of
Islamic Republic’s Embassy in Kuwait City, 20 Jun 2009
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