Unrest in Iran upon disputed election results

Right: Iranian riot police stand in front of a cloud of tear gas, as supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi fight running battles using stones and petrol bombs against police, as they protesting the results of the Iranian presidential election in Tehran, Iran, today, June 13. (Photo: AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Hell just broke loose in Iran. Just watch the videos of protesters clashing with police and you'll see what I mean. Be glad you're not there.

Riots broke in Tehran as news of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landslide election victory spread throughout the city.

Ahmadinejad won 62.63 percent of the vote while chief rival Mir Hossein Moussavi received 33.75 percent, the Iranian government said Saturday. The reformist opposition candidate is contesting the results, claiming fraud.

At a press conference, Mousavi declared himself "definitely the winner" based on "all indications from all over Iran." He accused the government of "manipulating the people's vote" to keep Ahmadinejad in power and suggested the reformist camp would stand up to challenge the results, AP reported.

"It is our duty to defend people's votes. There is no turning back," Mousavi said, alleging widespread irregularities.

Millions of mostly young Iranians desperate for change and who supported Mousavi in passionate pre-election rallies were crushed and furious. They clashed with police and set up barricades of burning tires upon learning about the results of the election.

Correspondents say the violence is the worst seen in Tehran in a decade, BBC reported.

A statement from Mousavi posted on his website urged his supporters to resist a "governance of lie and dictatorship."

"I'm warning that I won't surrender to this manipulation," he said. "The outcome of what we've seen from the performance of officials ... is nothing but shaking the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran sacred system and governance of lie and dictatorship."

Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad said Saturday the election in which he secured another four-year term was "free and healthy," rejecting allegations of irregularities by a moderate rival in the vote without making direct reference to Mousavi's remarks, Reuters reported.

"Everybody should respect people's vote...we need a calm atmosphere to build the country," Ahmadinejad said amid the protests.

The results flowed quickly after polls closed showing the hard-line president with a comfortable lead, defying expectations of a nail-biter showdown following a month of fierce campaigning and bringing immediate charges of vote rigging by Mousavi, AP reported.

It was even unclear how many Iranians were even aware of Mousavi's claims of fraud, according to the report, as communications disruptions began in the later hours of voting Friday, suggesting an information clampdown, according to various news reports. State television and radio only broadcast the Interior Ministry's vote count and not Mousavi's midnight press conference.

Sadeq Mahsouli, the country’s interior minister, on Saturday lauded the “unprecedented” turnout. He had said 85 percent of 46 million eligible voters had gone to the polls.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, closed the door on any chance he could use his limitless powers to intervene in the disputes from Friday's election, AP reported. In a message on state TV, he urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, calling the result a "divine assessment" and the voters’ turnout a show of Iran’s “pride” and “honor.”

Iran does not allow international election monitors. During the 2005 election, when Ahmadinejad won the presidency pledging to revive the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution, there were some allegations of vote rigging from losers, but the claims were never investigated.

His face covered with a green scarf symbolizing his party's color, a supporter of Iranian reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi holds a stone as others burn a trash bin in Tehran, Saturday, June 13, 2009. Mousavi supporters clashed with police and set up barricades of burning tires as authorities claimed the hard-line president was re-elected in a landslide. (AP Photo).

The U.S. and Canada challenged Iran's claims that hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election, but much of the rest of the world remained silent Saturday despite claims of fraud and scenes of clashes on the streets of Tehran.

Iran is a key economic player in the region, a perceived threat to Israel's national security, and a major worry for the U.S. and allies who fear Tehran is trying to build a nuclear weapon.

"We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran, but we, like the rest of the world, are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide," Clinton told reporters in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said his country, too, was "deeply concerned" by reports of irregularities.

Most countries appeared to be taking a wait-and-see approach, including the European Union and China, Germany, Italy and Japan--nations with strong economic ties to Iran.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said concerns about ballot counting that candidates have expressed are an issue for Iranian authorities to address.France said it was closely following the situation.

Following are the latest headlines related to this story:

• Iran's opposition leader Mousavi calls on all his supporters to avoid violence.

• A senior US official tells Reuters that the U.S. is "not yet ready" to pronounce the outcome of Iran's election; urges peaceful resolution.

• Cell phone service in Tehran is down while Facebook and websites affiliated with Ahmadinejad's top opponent have been blocked.
  

Source: BNO News, AP, Reuters, CNN, BBC, USA Today, CBS News