TEHRAN: Iran’s opposition held another rally yesterday as defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi renewed his call for a re-run of last week’s election that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. He also called on supporters to stage peaceful demonstrations or gather in mosques today to express solidarity with people killed in postelection unrest.
Tens of thousands of Mousavi supporters took part in what was billed as a “silent” protest rally, marching through central Tehran, witnesses said.
Wearing green headbands the demonstrators carried placards accusing Ahmadinejad of having “stolen” their votes. Iranian state television broadcast footage of the rally.
Grappling with the wave of public anger, Iran lashed out at enemy “plots,” summoning foreign ambassadors to protest against their intervention.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned Livia Leu Agosti, the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, to register its protest over the remarks made by US officials, the state television said.
“After the interfering remarks by American officials regarding the presidential election in our country, the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents US interests, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” it said. “Our protest was handed to the ambassador,” it added.
A US State Department statement later rejected Tehran’s claim that Washington was interfering in Iran’s internal affairs.
The authorities also threatened legal action against websites that publish material that “creates tensions” and issued a new warning to the foreign media, already facing tight restrictions on their work.
The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), meanwhile, said a dozen Iranian journalists and bloggers have been arrested and many others have gone into hiding.
World governments voiced alarm about the situation in Iran, but US President Barack Obama said Washington would not meddle in Tehran's affairs.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini said he would consider a partial recount after the opposition held mass protests over what it charges was blatant rigging of the election.
In defiance of an official ban, Mousavi himself called for marches and a day of mourning to for protesters slain in the postelection clashes.
And he repeated his demand for the results to be annulled and a new vote called, in a statement on his movement’s website.
At least seven people have been killed and many more wounded in clashes, with protests reported not only in Tehran but also other major cities.
Ahmadinejad remained defiant, saying his landslide victory showed faith in his government of honesty and service to the people. Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, said he was asking the Guardians Council, a 12-member body made up of jurists and clerics, to examine the allegations over the vote.
"If the examination of the problems require recounting of some ballot boxes, it should be definitely done in the presence of the representatives of candidates so that everybody is assured," he said.
Supporters of Ahmadinejad and Mousavi had staged rival rallies on Tuesday, each calling out hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets of Tehran, state media said.
