Iran crushes protests and prepares to cut all ties with Britain

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his government would not give into calls for a recount in the presidential election despite hundreds of thousands of Iranians taking to the streets.

The tough stance appeared to be leading the regime towards victory after a security crackdown succeeded in quelling street protests. The Supreme Leader said in a meeting with lawmakers today: "Neither the system nor the people will give in to pressures at any price."

It came after foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the Islamic Republic was "studying" the option of cutting diplomatic relations with London after a cabinet meeting in Tehran.

Britain is effectively in a stand-off with the regime after the tit-for-tat expulsion of two Iranian diplomats from the UK in response to the expulsion of British envoys from Tehran.

The ruling clique of religious leaders, who over-rule president Mahmoud Ahaminejad, have also placed opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi under 24-hour armed guard.

Police raided offices of a newspaper owned by the pro-reform candidate and detained 25 editorial employees on Monday.

The arrests came as the newspaper, Kalemeh Sabz (Green Word), was planning to relaunch. Mr Mousavi has not been able to speak freely after his calls for an election recount led to a succession of street protests last week.

A conservative candidate in the election today said he was withdrawing his complaints about voting fraud for the sake of the country, according to state television.

The announcement by Mohsen Rezaie, a former commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, moved the government a step closer to a declaration of victory for president Ahmadinejad.

Ayatollah Khamenei has said that Ahmadinejad won fairly but the government appears to be moving in stages toward a final declaration, perhaps to avoid provoking a resurgence of protests by backers of Mr Mousavi.

The opposition was planning to hold another demonstration at a secret location today, but last night the authorities seemed to have gained the advantage as protest was limited to rooftop cries of defiance after nightfall in Tehran.

People described as protesters were paraded on State television, some blaming Western media influence.

A woman identified as Ozrasadat said: "I was affected by the news and reports of foreign media, but when I came to streets I saw something different. These media (Voice of America and BBC Persian) said that people were killed by security forces and Basij, but I witnessed that the rioters damaged public property."

The authenticity of the broadcasts, shown by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, has been questioned by opposition groups.

A man called Mohsen is shown saying: "I was affected by a false atmosphere created by foreign media. Through my friends and satellite channels, mainly BBC, I was informed about gatherings. This channel started to agitate people after the elections and told them what to do on the streets. I saw none of these things but witnessed with my eyes the falsehood of news and reports by foreign channels."

Barack Obama was today awaiting a response from Iran to his outspoken condemnation of the election violence that has gripped the country.

Having declared the US "appalled and outraged" by the crushing of protesters, White House officials are expecting further accusations of interference.