Iranian opposition leader calls for rally

Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has issued a direct challenge today to the country’s supreme leader and cleric-led system, calling for a mass rally to protest disputed election results and violence against his followers.

A crackdown on dissent continued, with more arrests of opposition figures reported, and the country’s most powerful military force – the Revolutionary Guard – saying that Iranian websites and bloggers must remove any materials that “create tension” or face legal action.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has told Mr Mousavi to pursue his demands through the electoral system and called for Iranians to unite behind their Islamic government, an extraordinary appeal in response to tensions over the presidential vote. But Mr Mousavi appears unwilling to back down, issuing on his web site a call for a mass demonstration Thursday.

“We want a peaceful rally to protest the unhealthy trend of the election and realise our goal of annulling the results,” Mousavi said.

He called for “a new presidential election that will not repeat the shameful fraud from the previous election”.

Websites associated with Mr Mousavi and the reformists called for at least one rally later today but the opposition leader made no reference to the gathering in his official statement.

Mousavi and his supporters accuse the government of rigging the June 12 election to declare hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the overwhelming winner.

Their street protests, paired with dissent from powerful clerical and political figures, have presented one of the gravest threats to Iran’s complex blend of democracy and religious authority since the system emerged from the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Blogs and websites such as Facebook and Twitter have been vital conduits for Iranians to inform the world about protests and violence.

The web became more essential after the government barred foreign media yesterday from leaving their offices to report on demonstrations on the streets of Tehran.

Mousavi condemned the government for blocking websites, saying the government did not tolerate the voice of the opposition.

The violence has left at least seven people dead, according to Iran’s state media, although videos and photos posted by people inside Iran show scenes of violence that have not been reported through official channels. The new media restrictions make it virtually impossible to independently verify much of the information, which includes dramatic images of street clashes and wounded demonstrators.

The Revolutionary Guard, an elite military force answering to Khamenei, said through the state news service that its investigators have taken action against “deviant news sites” that encouraged public disturbance and street riots. The Guard is a separate military with enormous domestic influence and control of Iran’s most important defence programs. It is one of the key sources of power for the ruling establishment.

The statement alleged that dissident web sites were backed by Canadian, US and British interests, a frequent charge levied by Iranian hard-liners against their opposition.

“Legal action will be very strong and call on them to remove such materials,” it said.

In an attempt to placate the opposition, the main electoral authority has said it was prepared to conduct a limited recount of ballots at sites where candidates claim irregularities.

The recount would be overseen by the Guardian Council, an unelected body of 12 clerics and Islamic law experts close to Khamenei.

Mr Mousavi charges the Guardian Council is not neutral and has already indicated it supports Ahmadinejad. He and the two other candidates who ran against Ahmadinejad are calling for an independent investigation.

His representative, reformist cleric Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, said after a meeting with the council Tuesday the number of votes in counted in 70 districts was higher than the population in those districts. He also said many polling stations were closed sooner than scheduled on election night while people were still lining up.