Khamenei: Election results will stand

PROTESTERS clashed with riot police again yesterday around Iran’s parliament, as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the country won’t annul the results of last week’s disputed presidential election.

Hundreds of people flocked to a central Tehran square, where police fired ammunition into the air and beat demonstrators protesting against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Some protesters fought back, media reports said. “The Islamic establishment and people will never give in to forceful demands in regard to the election,” Khamenei told lawmakers in Tehran, according to state television.

“The violation of the election will lead to dictatorship.” Khamenei’s remarks came after US president Barack Obama yesterday stepped up criticism of Iran’s crackdown on protesters, reacting to the violent confrontations between the government and opposition.