Iran council rules out new election
U.S., international community 'appalled and outraged,' Obama says
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 | 2:17 PM ET
CBC News
Iranian security personnel gather on a street in Tehran in light of a Guardian Council decision that the recent election results will stand. (Twitter/Reuters) Riot police took to the streets of Tehran on Tuesday as the Guardian Council announced no major fraud occurred in Iran's presidential election, and vote results that handed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a landslide victory will remain valid.
The council of 12 clerics issued an announcement on state television that following its probe into the June 12 election results, Iranians will not vote again.
"No major fraud or breach in the election" was found, said Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, spokesman for the Guardian Council. "Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place."
Meanwhile, the United States along with the international community are "appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days," President Barack Obama told a press conference in Washington Tuesday.
"I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost," he said, which appeared to be a toughening of his rhetoric as Republican critics at home pounded him for being too passive on the Iran situation.
Obama noted the killing of a young woman, Neda Agha-Soltan, whose apparent shooting death was captured on video and circulated worldwide.
"We have seen courageous women stand up to brutality and threats, and we have experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets," he said. "While this loss is raw and painful, we also know this: Those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history."
Neda Agha-Soltan, shot and killed near one of the protest sites, has become a symbol of the reform movement. (Courtesy of Caspian Makan) He dismissed claims by Iran that the U.S. had triggered post-election protests by meddling in the country's internal affairs.
Though the U.S. has serious concerns about the fairness of the Iranian electoral process, Obama stopped short of calling for a recount.
It is not the place of outsiders such as those in the U.S. to determine the legitimacy of the elections, but rather in the purview of the country's citizens, Obama said.
Ahmadinejad's victory by a 2-to-1 margin has spurred allegations of vote-rigging and sent tens of thousands of protesters from both sides into the streets.
The Guardian Council announced on Monday that voting irregularities — more ballots had been cast than voters registered — had been found in 50 of the 170 districts in Iran. But the discrepancies, estimated to have affected about three million votes, were not widespread enough to impact the election's outcome, the council said.
According to government officials, Ahmadinejad won 62.6 per cent of the votes, while reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi garnered 33.75 per cent in a contest that appeared to divide urban and rural voters.
There has been no immediate comment from Mousavi on the council ruling. An aide for candidate Mahdi Karroubi said he still intends to demand a new election.
Special court for protesters
Members of the Revolutionary Guard, the Basij militia and other Iranian security forces in riot gear were deployed across Tehran on Tuesday to break up protests and order people to keep moving. A demonstration of some 200 people Monday was quickly broken up with tear gas and shots in the air.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, attends a meeting at the presidency in Tehran on Monday. (Fars News Agency, Hasan Ghaedi/Associated Press) Iran's supreme leader has ordered demonstrators off the streets, and Ebrahim Raisi, a top judicial official, confirmed Tuesday that a special court has been set up to deal with detained protesters.
"Elements of riots must be dealt with to set an example. The judiciary will do that," state-run radio quoted Raisi as saying.
Many protesters have turned to new techniques in light of the crackdown, such as turning on their car lights at certain hours of the day, and honking their horns or holding up posters.
At least 17 people have been killed in near-daily demonstrations, some with thousands of protesters. Defeated moderate candidate Mahdi Karroubi called on Iranians to hold mourning ceremonies on Thursday for those killed in the protests.
International pressure
Meanwhile, Iran has recalled its ambassador to Britain. Iran has accused the U.K. and the U.S. of meddling in its internal affairs by making statements that have promoted civil unrest.
Britain also expelled two Iranian diplomats on Tuesday in retaliation for Tehran's decision to order out two staff members from the British Embassy in Tehran, officials said.
On Tuesday, Iran added the UN to the list of international bodies interfering in its affairs.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged an immediate stop to use of force against civilians and urged authorities to respect civil rights.
"Mr. Ban Ki-moon, under the influence of some powers, is ignoring the realities of Iran's election and his remarks are clearly contradicting his duties … and are a clear interference in Iran's state matters," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi.
Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi called on the European Union to impose political sanctions against Iran and press for an end to the crackdown on demonstrators.
As long as violence continues in Iran, the EU should not negotiate or hold any meetings with Iranian officials, she said.
EU officials have said the 27-nation bloc was not yet considering new sanctions, but has appealed to Iran to stop its crackdown and investigate allegations that the presidential election was rigged against opposition candidates.
France also summoned Iran's ambassador Tuesday to express concern about what it called "brutal repression" of protesters in Tehran.
With files from The Associated Press
