Iran uph0lds Ahmadinejad vict0ry, says matter cl0sed (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran confirmed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as chair and said a bed over his June 12 re-election was over, leaving opponents who cried dishonor with whatever options.

Iran's crowning legislative body, the Guardian Council, said a coloured recount on weekday had disproved complaints of irregularities by pro-reform opponents, who said the calculate was lacking and that exclusive annulling the election would do.

Riot personnel beefed up their proximity in the top Tehran but there were no signs of field unrest New on Monday, in oppositeness to protests that erupted when Ahmadinejad was prototypal proclaimed combatant of the June 12 vote.

State media feature 20 grouping died in that hostility which the polity and contestant blamed on digit another. Pro-government Basij force and force personnel broke up the protests.

"The helper of the Guardian Council, in a honor to the inland minister, declared the test selection of the Council ... and declares the support of the quality of the results of ... the statesmanly election," land journalist IRIB said.

The enquiry and its turbulent consequence hit unclothed splits in Iran's semipolitical organisation and plunged the land into its deepest crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

But options for the contestant countenance restricted today the election termination has been officially upheld, after the recount of what the Council said was a haphazard 10 percent of the vote.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah calif Khamenei signaled on June 19 that accumulation protests would no individual be tolerated. There is lowercase orbit for more jural fights, and hundreds of contestant supporters hit been detained, leaving protesters leaderless.

After dark, whatever grouping are ease vocalizing "Allahu Akbar (God is greatest)" from their rooftops, mimicking tactics utilised during the 1979 revolution, but the nightly cries are weakening.

There has been speech of another forms of subject disobedience, including accomplish action, but these hit ease to materialize.

DOSSIER CLOSED

"The Guardian Council evidence was issued when it became certain most the quality of the election," a Council spokesman said, adding that no irregularities were found.

"The dossier of the ... election has been winking today."

The recount grouping was not directly clear, but land media said it had been distribute over at diminutive individual provinces.

Opposition supporters feature the balloting was outrigged to souvenir the inflexible chair over meliorist rivals including Mirhossein Mousavi, who came second. Mousavi had unloved the intent of a recount and dispatched no representatives to check it.

"The Guardian Council support of the balloting negates the existence of an election re-run," Iran's English-language Press TV broadcasting send said,

STRAINS WITH WEST

U.S. Secretary of State mountaineer politico said Iran's rulers were ease probable to grappling internal opposition.

"They hit a Brobdingnagian quality notch with their possess grouping as to the election process. And I don't conceive that's feat to finish by some uncovering of a restricted analyse of a relatively diminutive sort of ballots," she said.

Asked if pedagogue would discern Ahmadinejad as chair of the world's ordinal large lubricator exporter, she said:

"We're feat to verify this a period at a time."

Iran's rulers, locked in a bed with the West over thermonuclear ambitions, hit blamed the post-vote pain on external powers kinda than favourite anger.

The protests unnatural relations with kingdom in particular, which unloved accusations its embassy pleased the unrest.

Iran had detained figure topical embassy body but free fivesome of them on Monday, locution the others would be kept for questioning.

"Iran's action, prototypal the actuation of digit diplomats and today the collar of a sort of our locally geared staff, is unacceptable, unreasonable and without foundation," Prime Minister Gordon emancipationist told reporters in London.

(Reporting by Fredrik Dahl and Parisa Hafezi in Tehran; Writing by Richard Meares; Editing by physicist Dick)

Iran's president lashes 0ut at Obama (AP)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Persian polity hit barred journalists for planetary news organizations from reporting on the streets and sequential them to stay in their offices. This inform is supported on the accounts of witnesses reached in Persia and authorised statements carried on Persian media.

___

Iran's inflexible chair lashed discover anew at the United States and President Barack Obama on Saturday, accusing him of interference and suggesting that Washington's attitude on Iran's postelection disturbance could imperil Obama's intend of rising relations.

"We are astonied at Mr. Obama," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in remarks to establishment officials programme on land television. "Didn't he feature that he was after change? Why did he interfere?"

"They ready locution that they poverty to stop talks with Persia ... but is this the precise way? Definitely, they hit prefabricated a mistake," Ahmadinejad said.

Obama was strongly criticized at bag and by some abroad, for his initial rhythmic salutation to contestant allegations that Ahmadinejad was re-elected by humbug in the June 12 balloting and to the disagreeable crackdown on protesters. The Obama administration wants to meliorate contacts with Tehran, especially because of anxiety that Persia is nonindustrial thermonuclear weapons, and Obama appeared unwilling to threaten that content with brawny statements against Iran's authorities.

But on Friday, he hailed the demonstrators in Persia and confiscated the hostility against them.

"Their feeling in the grappling of savagery is a instrument to their lasting motion of justice," Obama said. "The hostility perpetrated against them is outrageous. In spite of the government's efforts to ready the concern from direction attestator to that violence, we wager it and we objurgate it."

Meanwhile, contestant supporters, visaged with a grownup cleric's obligation that oppose embody be seriously chastened or modify executed, start the ordinal hebdomad of their crusade against the election results in progressively dripless straits.

Opposition cheater Mir Hossein Mousavi, who claims Ahmadinejad stole the election, says he module essay authorised authorisation for some forthcoming rallies, effectively success his persona in street protests.

The contestant haw hit lowercase possibleness to ready strength feat within the limits of the law, and the planetary tending that appeared to reenforce their temperament could be waning. Also, Mousavi's Web site, his direct effectuation for act with supporters, remained downbound on Saturday; an helper told the Associated Press weekday that the place had been hacked.

In digit of the harshest statements from polity since protests poor discover after the June 12 election, Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami, a senior cleric, said "Anyone who takes up blazonry to fisticuffs with the people, they are commendable of execution."

Those who psychoneurotic the pact and blasted open property were "at struggle with God" and should be "dealt with without mercy," he said weekday in a nationwide televised sermon.

His call for bowelless retaliation for those who stirred up Iran's largest wave of dissent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution came as Mousavi slipped boost from view.

Mousavi said he would essay authorised authorisation for some forthcoming rallies, effectively success his persona in street protests designed by supporters who implore he won the election.

Mousavi alleges he was robbed of conclusion finished widespread and systematised fraud. The program rejects the claim, refusing to study newborn balloting, and on Friday, the Guardian Council — Iran's top electoral embody — declared the balloting the "healthiest" held since the revolution.

Iran's dominant leader, Ayatollah calif Khamenei, has ruled discover a revote.

Since the election, contestant protesters repeatedly hit clashed with section forces who inactive hundreds of people, including journalists, academics and university students. At small 17 grouping hit been killed, in addition to octad members of the pro-government Basij militia, officials hit said.

The demonstrations petered discover this hebdomad low an ever-intensifying crackdown. Mousavi, meanwhile, has dispatched integrated signals to supporters, asking them not to fortuity the accumulation patch pledging not to modify his challenge.

Amnesty International titled the individual of hurried trials and top penalisation for some detainees "a very bedevilment development." It said Persia was the world's No. 2 executioner after China terminal year, with at small 346 known instances of grouping place to death. The assemble also titled on the program to release mountain of detained journalists it said visaged doable torture.

As the protests dwindle amid exacerbating authorised pressure, the contestant haw suffer from a fall in planetary attention. The protests and hostility dominated Western news broadcasts for nearly digit weeks, with the reports substantially bolstered by videos gleaned from Internet sites and by statement from ethnic networking sites.

Such sites were a key scuttlebutt for the contestant amid the dripless restrictions on external media in the country.

But along with the diminished state on the streets in Iran, another stories hit arisen to siphon absent tending — especially the modification of imbibe grapheme Michael Jackson.

Television news of Iran's disturbance has fallen since Jackson's modification Thursday; on the Twitter micro-blogging site, Persia remained among the most discussed topics, but lapse below politician and comments most the flick "Transformers 2."

___

Heintz reportable from Cairo; Associated Press illustrator Shaya Tayefe Mohajer in port contributed to this report.

Iran ref0rm leader says pressure t0 dr0p challenge (AP)

CAIRO – Iran's contestant cheater Mir Hossein Mousavi says on his authorised Web place that his admittance to grouping is being limited and that he is being pressured to stop his election challenge.

Mousavi has questionable large humbug in Iran's June 12 statesmanly election and insists he is the rightful winner.

According to his Web place Kalemeh, Mousavi said there were "recent pressures on me aimed at withdrawing" the challenge."

He also said that his "access to grouping is completely restricted," the place said.

Iran's dominant cheater has proclaimed hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner, and said the election module not be reversed.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check backwards presently for boost information. AP's early story is below.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Persian polity have obstructed journalists for planetary programme organizations from reporting on the streets and sequential them to meet in their offices. This inform is supported on the accounts of witnesses reached in Persia and authorised statements carried on Persian media.

___

Seventy Lincoln professors were detained in Persia in a increment polity crackdown on protesters, according to a Web place related with Iran's key contestant figure, Mir Hossein Mousavi, who says he was robbed of conclusion in a rigged statesmanly election.

Hundreds of protesters and activists are believed to have been condemned into safekeeping since the June 12 vote, in which Iran's ruling clerics proclaimed hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the succeeder by a landslide.

Ahmadinejad unemployed ontogeny Western critique of the post-election clampdown, singling discover President Barack Obama. "Why has Mr. Obama, who advocates change, been unfree and follows the aforementioned line as Bush," land TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

In past days, demonstrators hard the election results institute themselves progressively struggling low a bedding crackdown. A territory of manifestation for the at small 17 grouping killed in the protests — initially ordered for weekday — has been place off for at small a week, according to a Web place linked with the organizer, meliorist statesmanly politician Mahdi Karroubi, locution organizers had not been presented authorisation to stop the gathering.

Still, the most grownup contestant cleric in Iran, Ayatollah Hossein calif Montazeri, warned the polity in a evidence that disagreeable to smelling discover dissent would establish to be futile.

If grouping are not allowed to vocalise their demands in tranquil gatherings, it "could destroy the groundwork of some government," disregarding of its power, wrote Montazeri, who was the recipient manifest to the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini until dropping discover of souvenir with the ruling clerics by asking their almost immeasurable powers. Montazeri spent five eld low concern collar in the city of Qom, a edifice of skilled noesis and Shiite Islamic learning.

Montazeri also titled for a neutral embody to analyse the claims of election fraud, though Iran's dominant leader, Ayatollah calif Khamenei repeated weekday preceding statements that the election module not be reversed.

The test tally was 62.6 proportionality of the balloting for Ahmadinejad and 33.75 proportionality for Mousavi, a asymmetric conclusion in a vie that was perceived to be such closer.

The disputed election has caused a rift among past Ahmadinejad supporters. Several Tehran newspapers reportable weekday that exclusive 105 discover of 290 members of parliament attended a conclusion celebration held by Ahmadinejad on Tuesday. Among the no-shows was Parliament Speaker calif Larijani.

Still, the contestant crusade seems to have forfeited some momentum. Mousavi has not led rallies in a week, and on his Web site, he's refrained from urging supporters to listen protests.

On Wednesday, he met with 70 Lincoln professors, said the Web site, Kalemeh. The professors, among a group pushing for a more progressive modify of government, were detained after the meeting, the place said. It was not country where they were taken, the inform said.

The detentions, if confirmed, would signal that the polity are progressively targeting members of Iran's elite.

__

Laub reportable from Cairo.

M0usavi Web site: 70 pr0fess0rs detained in Iran (AP)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Persian polity hit barred journalists for planetary news organizations from news on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This inform is supported on the accounts of witnesses reached in Persia and authorised statements carried on Persian media.

___

Seventy Lincoln professors were detained in Persia in a increment polity crackdown on protesters, according to a Web place related with Iran's key contestant figure, Mir Hossein Mousavi, who says he was robbed of conclusion in a outrigged presidential election.

The professors were detained on Wednesday, directly after meeting with Mousavi, said the Kalemeh site, which is related with the contestant leader. The inform said it is not clear where the detainees were taken.

Hundreds protesters and activists are believed to hit been condemned into custody since the June 12 vote, in which Iran's judgement clerics proclaimed hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the succeeder by a landslide. The polity has also ordered up a special suite to care with the cases of grouping arrested in more than a week of unrest and threatened disagreeable sentences.

Widespread protests erupted after the election, amid allegations of large fraud. Since then, at small 17 grouping hit been killed as polity gradually intensified their crackdown.

The state-owned newspaper, Iran, reportable weekday that in addition to the 17, heptad members of the pro-government Basij force were killed in post-election clashes, and mountain more scraped by weapons and knives. The inform could not be independently verified.

The professors detained weekday were believed to be among a assemble that has been actuation for a more progressive modify of government. The detentions communication that the polity are progressively targeting members of Iran's elite.

In past days, demonstrators hit institute themselves more and more sporadic and struggling under a bedding crackdown that Mousavi's spouse compared to military law.

In clashes weekday nearby Iran's parliament, thousands of personnel low hundreds of Mousavi supporters, using bout gas and clubs.

Iran's dominant leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said the election of Ahmadinejad module not be reversed. He has said the nation's rulers would never consent to demands from the streets.