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Iran’s council to conduct partial vote recount

Atul Aneja

Mir Hosain Mousavi seeks annulment of the vote

Street protests have rocked Tehran since June 13
Government organises huge rally in downtown Tehran

DUBAI: Iran’s embattled government has taken one more step to defuse tensions in Tehran by agreeing to a partial recount of the votes polled in Friday’s disputed presidential election.

The supervisory Guardian Council announced on Tuesday that it was ready to go ahead with a recount of votes in the disputed ballot boxes.

“We are ready to recount those boxes that presidential candidates claim to have been cheated,” council spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodayi said. He did not rule out the possibility of cancelling the results, acknowledging that the council was empowered to do so.

The move follows Monday’s order by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the council to probe written allegations by Mir Hosain Mousavi that the election was fraudulent.

Mr. Mousavi, who emerged as the nearest rival to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is seeking the annulment of the vote, and his call has been reinforced by protests that have rocked the streets of Tehran since June 13.

Seven killed in firing

Seven persons were killed when plainclothes militia opened fire at a group that attacked their station after crowds attending Mr. Mousavi’s mammoth rally on Monday began to disperse. With martyrdom venerated in local culture, these deaths could add grist to the snowballing protests.

Reinforcing the polarisation that has deepened in Iran in the aftermath of the election, the government organised a huge rally on Tuesday in downtown Tehran.

The state media reported that the purpose of the rally, in which hundreds of thousands participated, was to demand punishment for those who indulged in rioting during Mr. Mousavi’s rally.

Mr. Mousavi’s supporters were also earlier slated to congregate at the same spot, raising prospects of clashes with government supporters.

However, Mr. Mousavi said on his website that he would not participate in the rally and advised his followers “not to fall in the trap of street riots” and to “exercise self-restraint.”

Curbs on media

With the media beaming footage of the protests the world over, the authorities have reportedly reinforced curbs on them. Iran’s Press TV reported that Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, an adviser to the defeated presidential candidate, Mehdi Karroubi, was arrested on Tuesday following violent protests.

Khamenei orders probe into poll fraud charges

Mousavi addresses huge rally in Tehran

Time to move forward — Editorial

Ahmadinejad rejects charge of electoral fraud

Western analysts missed the “silent majority” in Iran

Landslide for Ahmadinejad

Iranians turn out in strength for presidential election

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