As the protests continue, however, Mousavi might be propelled into a position he never sought: the Mikhail Gorbachev or FW de Klerk of Iran, a member of the ruling establishment who surprises even himself by deviating from the line to the point where the system falls apart

A backstage struggle among Iran’s ruling clerics burst into the open when the government said it had arrested the daughter and other relatives of an ayatollah who is one of the country’s most powerful men.

AN EERIE calm settled over the streets of Tehran yesterday as state media reported at least 10 more deaths in post-election unrest and said authorities arrested the daughter and four other relatives of ex-President Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of Iran’s most powerful men.

State media reported today at least 10 more deaths in post-election unrest and said authorities have arrested the daughter and four other relatives of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of Iran’s most powerful men.

Tens of thousands of black-clad protesters filled the streets of Tehran again today, joining opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi to mourn demonstrators killed in clashes over Iran’s disputed election.

Supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi are protesting in the capital Tehran for the fourth straight day over the disputed Iran presidential election.

Iran’s powerful former president today said he will sue hard-line leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for slander over remarks he made during an election debate.

An Iranian court acquitted a former nuclear negotiator of spying charges today but convicted him of acting against the Islamic government.

Former president Hashemi Rafsanjani was today picked as head of a powerful clerical body empowered with choosing or dismissing Iran’s supreme leader, state-run television reported.

Final results today showed Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's opponents have won elections for local councils.

An Iranian envoy says that Argentine prosecutors’ accusations linking former high-level Iranian officials to a 1994 Buenos Aires bombing are unfounded and an attempt to find a ”scapegoat” for the attack.

ARGENTINIAN prosecutors have asked a judge to order the arrest of former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre that killed scores of people.

Argentine prosecutors have asked a judge to order the arrest of former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural centre that killed scores of people.

Israel will “never dare” attack Iran because Tehran’s hand can reach the Jewish state, the former president of the Islamic republic warned today.

The former Iranian president said today that talk of US contingency planning for a military attack on Iran was overblown because such a move would be too dangerous.

Former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani said today that Iran has enriched uranium using 164 centrifuges, a major development in nuclear fuel cycle technology, news agencies reported.

Iran today successfully test-fired a missile with the ability to avoid radar and hit several targets simultaneously, the air force chief of the elite Revolutionary Guards said.

Confrontation with Western states over Iran’s nuclear programme has reached a climax, a former Iranian president said today.

WESTERN sanctions won’t impede Iran from resuming research at a uranium enrichment plant, former president Hashemi Rafsanjani said yesterday in a denunciation of the international outcry over Tehran’s nuclear activities.

Iran’s nuclear programme will not be impeded by any sanctions or action the West may take, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani said today.

IRAN’S novice President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad named an obscure figure as oil minister yesterday, risking a domestic political storm after already stirring one abroad with his call for Israel’s destruction.

Iran’s ultraconservative new president – spurning international outrage over his remarks about Israel – joined more than a million demonstrators who flooded the streets of the capital and other major cities yesterday to back his call for the destruction of the Jewish state.

THE West cannot push Iran around as it has Libya and Iraq, a former Iranian president said yesterday.

AS THE sky grew dark over Croke Park on Monday night it all became clear.

Iran’s President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today he seeks to create a “modern, advanced, powerful and Islamic” model for the world.

Ultra-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has won Iran's presidency by an overwhelming vote, decisively shutting reformists out of government and threatening to lead the country back toward the restrictions of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

IRANIANS packed polling stations yesterday in a tight presidential race between a well-known cleric, the default choice for reformists, and a hard-liner seeking to reclaim the values of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iranians packed polling stations today in a tight presidential race between a well-known moderate cleric, who became the default choice for reformists, and a hard-liner seeking to reclaim the values of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iranians packed polling stations today in a presidential race too close to call between a well-known political moderate and his hardline rival seeking to reclaim the values of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Voters in Iran go to the polls again today to decide who will become the Islamic country's next president.

IRAN officials yesterday dismissed allegations of vote rigging in the presidential election, clearing the way for a run-off vote.

IRANIAN reformists urged their dejected supporters to rally behind pragmatic cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to prevent hard-line challenger Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from winning a presidential run-off.

Iran will hold the first runoff presidential election in its history between political veteran Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani and Tehran’s hard-line mayor, election officials said today.

Iran’s presidential elections seemed almost certain to require a second round as the favourite contender, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, appeared unlikely today to garner the 50% of votes required to avoid a run-off round.

IRANIANS reacted with anger and fear yesterday to a rare string of bomb attacks that killed nine people and wounded more than 70 ahead of presidential elections.

Iran’s missiles now have a range of 2,000 kilometres, a substantial extension of their previously declared range, the nation’s former president said today.

Iran today accused the US and Europe of trying to stop it from gaining nuclear technology expertise and vowed to frustrate all such efforts.

IRAN’S powerful former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has accused the US of being anti-Muslim by pressuring Tehran over its nuclear programme, the state news agency IRNA reported.

Hundreds of pro-cleric militants and security forces clashed with Iranians throughout the capital for a fourth night, firing machine guns in the air and using tear gas and batons to put down any public opposition to the country’s hard-line regime.