TEHRAN, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran's defeated
presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi said in a statement posted on his
website on Wednesday that Iran's new government is "illegitimate."
Iran's presidential election candidate
Mirhossein Mousavi speaks during a news conference in Tehran June 12,
2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
"From now on ...the majority of society, of which I
am a member, will not accept its (the new government's) legitimacy," the
statement said.
Referring to a number of detained people of his
supporters, Mousavi called on the officials to "free the children of the
revolution from the prisons," and also called for lifting of a ban on the media.
Iran's Guardian Council, which
is charged with supervising elections in the country, approved the results of
the June 12 presidential election on Monday. see the story
The announcement came after the Guardian Council ran
a recount of 10 percent of the votes on Monday, which showed no irregularities,
the English-language satellite Press TV channel said.
The Guardian Council's announcement confirmed that
incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been reelected for a second term.
Guardian Council spokesman
Abbasali Kadkhodai told state television later Monday that the case for
reviewing the election results "is closed now" for the council. see the story
On June 13, the Iranian interior minister said
Ahmadinejad won 62.63 percent of the total ballots, while his main rival Mir-
Hossein Mousavi got 33.75 percent.
The other two candidates -- former parliament speaker
Mehdi Karroubi and former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezaei -- got less
than 2 percent of the total ballots.
After the official declaration, all the three
defeated candidates filed complaints over irregularities in the election, while
Mousavi and Karroubi have demanded an annulment of the election.
Rezaei later withdrew his complaints filed to the
Guardian Council about the disputed presidential election.
The Guardian Council had said it was ready to recount
up to 10 percent of the ballot boxes randomly in the disputed presidential
election.
However, Mousavi rejected the partial vote recount as
a ruse and continued to demand a nullification of the election.
Mousavi's supporters participated in massive rallies
in Tehran and other cities following the disputes. Iran's state media said 20
people had been killed in related clashes.
TEHRAN, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran's
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that Iran's presidential
election results mark abig "victory for the anti-imperialist camp," the official
IRNA news agency reported.
"Iran's election results mark a big victory for the
entire anti-imperialist camp. Absolutely from now on, we will deal with global
issues more powerfully," Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting with the
visiting Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez in Tehran
Wednesday. Full story
TEHRAN, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Intelligence Minister
Mohseni Ejei said that the United States and Israel were behind Iran's
vote-rigging claims which had escalated unrest in the country, local satellite
Press TV reported on Monday.
"Americans and Zionists sought to destabilize Iran
... they were upset with a stabilized and secure Iran," Ejei was quoted as
saying. Full story
