Mon, 06/29/2009 - 22:03 by surajdogra
Tehran, June 29:Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, Monday approved the result of the country's disputed June 12 election, confirming incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president.
State television station IRIB quoted the council's spokesman, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, as saying that no major irregularities had been found, and that the council considered the results as official.
The dispute election result unleashed waves of street protests and violent crackdowns beginning June 13, after opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Moussavi said the poll was rigged and called for an annulment.
Massive police deployments were observed in Tehran Monday evening, in expectation of possible further demonstrations.
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Sun, 06/28/2009 - 21:58 by Inderjit Singh
Tehran, June 28-- Police used teargas against thousands of supporters of opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi during a mourning march Sunday in central Tehran, eyewitnesses said.
Eyewitnesses said police used teargas after clashes between them and demonstrators.
Moussavi's supporters had gathered to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, who was killed in a bombing on June 28, 1981. He was a former head of the judiciary and head of the Iranian mosque in the northern German city of Hamburg.
The gathering was also used as an opportunity to mourn the victims of recent protests.
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Sat, 06/27/2009 - 14:44 by preet_20
Tehran, June 27: Iran's Guardian Council has offered opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi a deal to settle the dispute over alleged fraud in the June 12 presidential election.
Council spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei said a special committee would be formed to review the disputed election results that gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a controversial victory.
The council also called on Moussavi and fellow defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi to send representatives within 24 hours to join the committee.
Moussavi demanded an independent committee to evaluate the election results, but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected it, saying prevailing laws and the constitution gave the Guardian Council sole authority regarding election results.
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Thu, 06/25/2009 - 15:12 by preet_20
Tehran, June 25: Iranian authorities arrested 70 academics after they met opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi, the defeated presidential candidate's website said Thursday.
The report did not clarify where the university professors, who are all members of the Islamic Associations of their universities, were brought after Wednesday's arrests.
Hundreds of opposition supporters, who protested against alleged manipulation in the June 12 presidential polls, which led to the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are believed to have been arrested.
According to state media, 17 people were killed in the violence.
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Thu, 06/25/2009 - 13:12 by preet_20
Tehran/Hamburg, June 25: Mehdi Karroubi, who came third in Iran's disputed presidential elections, cancelled a ceremony planned for Thursday to mourn the deaths of those killed during the protests against alleged election fraud, his website said.
The moderate former speaker of parliament plans to hold the ceremony next week instead. Karroubi's camp said the government refused to provide a location for the ceremony, as the interior ministry has banned all protest gatherings.
The government has clamped down hard on protests, insisting it would not budge over the disputed elections.
Karroubi earlier assailed the regime, saying he would not accept the election results and therefore also regarded the new government as not legitimate.
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Wed, 06/24/2009 - 14:28 by preet_20
Tehran, June 24: The best way to settle the dilemma over the controversial results of Iran's presidential elections would be formation of an independent committee, a statement released on opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi's website suggested Wednesday.
Moussavi, and millions of Iranians, accuse the government of fraud in the June 12 election that gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an overwhelming victory.
The election review and final decision on the result is constitutionally in the hands of the Guardian Council, but the impartiality of council is disputed by Moussavi and other opposition groups due to its strong support for Ahmadinejad.
The council consists of six clerics and six lawyers.
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Wed, 06/24/2009 - 11:28 by preet_20
Washington, June 24: US President Barack Obama Tuesday strongly rejected Iranian accusations of interfering in the election crisis and in some of his toughest language yet said he was "appalled and outraged" by the violent crackdown on protestors.
Obama dismissed as "patently false and absurd" Iranian suggestions that his administration was behind the protests, accusing Iranian officials of trying to avoid questions about the legitimacy of the election by blaming the US.
"The Iranian people are trying to have a debate about their future. Some in the Iranian government are trying to avoid that debate by accusing the United States and others outside of Iran of instigating protests over the elections," Obama said. "These accusations are patently false and absurd."
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Tue, 06/23/2009 - 13:34 by preet_20
Tehran, June 23: Iranian opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi has met senior clergy and discussed the latest developments in the country, including the deaths of protestors during street demonstrations in Tehran, his website said Tuesday.
In the meeting which was held Monday, Moussavi discussed the alleged fraud in the June 12 presidential election, people's right to follow up the issue, mass arrests and attacks on protestors which have led to the killings of "innocent people", the website said.
No further details were given.
Security has been tightened in Tehran since Monday, with several police and security forces as well as the voluntary Basij militia deployed throughout the Iranian capital.
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Tue, 06/23/2009 - 10:07 by preet_20
New York/Tehran, June 23: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Iranian government to put an end to the violence against opposition supporters protesting the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"The secretary-general has been following with growing concern the situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran and is dismayed by the post-election violence, particularly the use of force against civilians, which has led to the loss of life and injuries," a statement released Monday said.
Ban urged "an immediate stop to the arrests, threats and use of force".
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Mon, 06/22/2009 - 15:42 by preet_20
Tehran, June 22: Iran Monday did not rule out the expulsion of foreign diplomats following days of mass protests against alleged vote rigging in the June 12 presidential polls.
"The issue of expulsion (of some European diplomats) is currently evaluated in parliament and the foreign minister will consult today (Monday) with parliament's foreign policy commission about the exact dimensions of interference," the foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said.
Ghashghavi also blamed European media in Tehran for having joined their governments in "supporting anarchism", and termed this approach "unacceptable".
Iranian authorities cracked down on foreign media coverage of the protests by supporters of presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Moussavi.
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Mon, 06/22/2009 - 11:09 by preet_20
London, June 22: Britain has rejected the claims by Iran that the post-poll protests and violence were orchestrated by foreign countries.
"I reject categorically the idea that the protesters in Iran are manipulated or motivated by foreign countries," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement Sunday.
Iran's Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki had earlier accused Western countries, including Britain, of plotting to sabotage the presidential vote, which saw incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registering a landslide victory with over 63 percent of votes.
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Mon, 06/22/2009 - 11:04 by preet_20
Tehran, June 22: Iran's opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi called on his supporters Sunday to continue their protests against alleged election fraud, but cautioned them to show restraint against any violence.
"Protesting against lies and fraud is your legitimate right but you should constantly show restraint," Moussavi said in a statement carried on his website.
He blamed the government for the killings of protesters Saturday and said the interior ministry's refusal to grant permission for the rally provoked clashes between protesters and police and led to the deaths.
According to official figures, at least ten people were killed and hundreds injured during the demonstrations against alleged fraud in June 12 presidential election. The actual number is feared to be much higher.
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