Tehran mass protest keeps pressure on regime over poll result
The rally came as electoral watchdog, the Guardians Council, said it was investigating a total of 646 complaints of irregularities in the conduct of the poll from Mousavi and the other two defeated candidates.
It said it had invited the trio to set out their grievances tomorrow, with a decision on Sunday about any possible recount in the June 12 election which returned hardline incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.
Mousavi himself joined the crowds, most of whom were dressed in black as a mark of mourning for demonstrators killed in clashes during the protests which have been banned by the authorities, witnesses said.
State radio has reported seven deaths since the protests started.
Foreign journalists have been barred from attending all rallies or other events without expressauthority.
The protesters carried pictures of Mousavi and placards bearing slogans such as “We have not had people killed to compromise and accept a doctored ballot box,” one witness said.
Another placard said: “My martyred brother, I will get back your vote.”
Mousavi joined the rally despite warnings from the hardline Basij militia, which has been at the forefront of action against election protests, for defeated candidates to dissociate themselves from “the rioters”.
Facing their biggest crisis since the 1979 revolution against the Shah, Iran’s Islamic rulers have gone on the offensive, arresting protesters and prominent reformists, tightening their grip on the media and lashing out at “meddling” by foreign foes, including the United States.
Besides the seven reported deaths, many more people have been wounded in the worst violence for at least a decade, with protests reported in provincial cities as well as Tehran.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he would consider a partial recount after Ahmadinejad’s defeated challengers lodged formal complaints of vote-rigging.
However, Mousavi is insisting that the result of what he has described as a “shameful fraud” be annulled and a new vote called.
World governments have raised concern about the situation in Iran, particularly the violence and widespread arrests, with some European leaders publicly speaking of fraud and irregularities.
But the Iranian mission to the European Union hit back yesterday saying that foreign support for the opposition demonstrators “cannot be justified”.
On Wednesday, Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents US interests in Iran, to protest at what it called “interfering remarks” by US officials.
Warning they would crush any “velvet revolution”, the authorities have rounded up scores of people, including prominent reformists and even former government officials.
In the latest sweep, Iran on Wednesday arrested Ebrahim Yazdi and Mohammad Tavasoli, veteran revolutionaries and leaders of Iran’s Liberation Movement, the Etemad Melli newspaper reported.
In a sign of cracks emerging within the Iranian elite, a number of influential clerics have spoken out about the election results and the subsequent crackdowns.
Ayatollah Mehdi Hadavi Tehrani yesterday called for Interior Minister Sadeq Mahouli to be impeached.
The combative Ahmadinejad – who set Iran on a collision course with the West during his first four-year term – has remained defiant, saying his victory showed faith in his government of “honesty and service to the people.”
In a rare move, Khamenei is due to lead the main weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran today, in the presence of the Basij militia.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
