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- London protestors fear for relatives
- Commentary: Flowering rebellion could fade away as fast as it blossomed
- VIDEO: How internet protests slipped past censors
- Timeline: Iran's descent into bloodshed
- In pictures: Iranian election protests around the world
- Barack Obama sits on the fence by refusing to back Mousavi
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today made an extraordinary appeal to defuse tension and violence in the country after the disputed national election.
The Ayatollah has not appeared in public since the election but has met representatives of all four presidential candidates to call for an end to the rioting, which has seen hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets of the capital Tehran in protest.
The move reflects the gravity of the situation, which presents one of the most serious threats to Iran's complex blend of democracy and religious authority since the system emerged from the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
He told the representatives: "In the elections, voters had different tendencies, but they equally believe in the ruling system and support the Islamic Republic.
"Nobody should take any action that would create tension, and all have to explicitly say they are against tension and riots."
At the same time, the Revolutionary Guards - Iran's most powerful military force - has warned online media of a crackdown on their coverage of the country's election crisis.
The elite body answers only to the Supreme Leader. It has said Iranian websites and bloggers must remove any materials that "create tension" or face legal action.
It is the Guards' first public statement since the crisis erupted following the presidential election on Friday. Iranian reformist websites and blogs and Western sites such as Facebook and Twitter have been vital conduits for Iranians to inform the world about protests over the declaration of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as winner of the election.
The government yesterday barred foreign media from leaving their offices to report on the street protests. They could effectively only conduct telephone interviews and monitor official sources such as state TV.
Some foreign journalists were forced to leave Iran because the government would not extend the visas they received to cover the election.
Despite the Supreme Leader's intervention, thousands of people took to the streets again yesterday in rival demonstrations supporting both of the main candidates - Mr Ahmadinejad and moderniser Mirhossein Mousavi. Seven protesters were shot dead and there were accusations of atrocities against students at a Tehran university dormitory.
Mr Mousavi has called the election an "astonishing charade", demanding it be cancelled and held again.
His representative, reformist cleric Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, repeated that demand after a meeting of the Guardian Council yesterday. He and representatives of the two other opposition candidates called for an independent investigation of voting irregularities.
The Guardian Council, an unelected body of 12 clerics and Islamic law experts close to the Supreme Leader and supportive of Mr Ahmadinejad, is believed to have agreed a partial recount.
Reader views (23)
'Iran'? Wozzat...! This is Persia, an ancient country with an old, huge heritage and a new, youthful population. The world needs their good sense, but of course they have to evolve that collective good sense first. Not for us to interfere, but good wishes to all those there who sensibly try to sort things out. Religionism can't make things easier, but few countries today are free of that weird complication.
- Steve, London, England
Hopefully Mousavi will win and lead Iran back to its historic position of greatness and maintain the process to ensure the balance of power in the middle east is balanced against the extremist israelis.
- Alan Rex, london, england
Let's hope the real result can win,how typical of the dictatorship who claim they are servants of allah/god...pass the sick bucket and let this infidel heave..Good luck to all Iranians who deserve a lasting peace..
- Jonnie Of Brixton, brixton,london,england
Mullahs now already saying .."they cannot annul the results of the election"....this really is going to get messy. It says everything anyone needs to know about the current regime.
- James Ritchie, Oyster Bay Cove, NY
If you take out the thugs in Iran and replace them with the moderates like Mousavi,the likes of Assad of Syria,
Chavez in Venezuela and Kim in North korea will lose their support and hopefully disappear.
- David Nigel Braham, Milan Italy
Gosh, it reminds me of our police at the G20 demo!
- Bj, London
I think the Mullahs have been spooked by the brazen lies told by Ahmadinejad. He only got 5.9m votes compared with 21m by his challenger Mousav. This is telling the Mullahs that they are sitting on a bomb and if they aren't careful they along with their little nasty friend are toast a la 1979. The more people the Police shoot the worse it will get. These Policemen also have to live in society not in a barracks. If they sleep their throats will be cut. It is the way of thw world, make ordinary people angry enough and they will rise up and it will get very ugly. The Mullahs are between a rock and a hard place. What will the recount show? That Ahmadinejad is a lying cheat? I don't think so. This going to rumble on, Iran could well be heading for massive internal strife and become ungovernable.
- James Ritchie, Oyster Bay Cove, NY
Rigged or not, the Iranians have had an election to elect their leader unlike the UK where we are not given the chance to elect the head of state or the so called "leader"
T H Leeds
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK
Mdj E10, london uk
Very well said, no one seems to care that our voting sytem gets fiddled.
It's rumoured nearly half of the ballt boxes at the London Mayoral election were opened before they were counted
- P Staker, London
This is strange. A regime like the one ruling Iran would not normally tolerate any dissent. It would be crushed ruthlessly as was a uni-student uprising a few years back. To claim that Ahmadinejad's election was a 'divine result' is plane bonkers
- Adam, Harrow, UK
I bet Nuliebour will fiddle the votes in our General Election, next year, it's the the only way can win.
- Dee Jay, Fleet Hampshire
This is what we should have done, but most would sooner moan that take action
- Ge, Kernow
To say that Ahmadinejad has been instated as a leader by divine decree is an insult to The God.
Try theft, or opportunism of the bigots...
So long as they accept such leaders the so-called "muslims" will have what they deserve: dictatorship, corruption, lies, deceit, repression, ignorance, superstition to manipulate into subservience.
Ironically the Prophet of whom they claim allegiance, and his cousin Ali (who married the Prophet's daughter) they purport to be repairing the wrong inflicted to advocated and followed the Quran who enjoins freeing Man from the above.
Instead the Message has been appropriated and hijacked by those who give "divine decrees", their fate is with The God...
This is written by a blood line from The Prophet (from father and mother forks), and I am neither proud, nor do I condone what is done in Iran in the name of Mohamed, Ali and Fatima Zahra, my ancestors via Hassan.
As for the other sectarians, this applies too...
- Nabil H, London, UK
I am very impressed: that so many ordinary Iranians are standing up to be counted, against a regime that rules with fear and religious indoctrination etc; this is not easy for ordinary unarmed people.
Long ago our Christian Religions dominated and ruled our lives with the fear of god; if we spoke our free minds etc.
Today we no longer burn old ladies with black cats.
Persia; [Iran] is one of the worlds oldest civilizations; I personally wish them well in their struggle for a modern society; and with freedom of expression, and human rights for all.
But freedom has a price to be paid in blood, to be rid of all kinds of dictators; and always remember this; once freedom has been achieved; it takes eternal vigilance to safe-guard.
Good Luck to all you ordinary Iranians; you struggle will free you one day.
- Mickyinlondon, london
David Miliband comments on Iran are out of order.He belongs to a discredited government which deliberately conceals the truth about the war in Iraq from the public
- Alex Pomeroy, london
There's not a lot that the world outside can do, beyone expressing concern, and support for Iranian democracy. Let's hope that ordinary Iranians can succeed. The citizens of Ceaucescu's Romania and of the former East Germany showed that a repressive state becomes impotent, when enough people oppose it.
- Nigel, London
I hope we do the same after our own bogus election! Smash the state!!
- Neil, London, London UK
Death to the revolting Islamic Revolution and not to the innocent Iranian protesters. We must protest in the strongest terms at the way this barbaric Islamist Regime is murdering and torturing the poor Iranian people.
- Richard K, Nottingham
If anyone thinks that Iran has, or has ever had, a vestige of democracy it is pure self-delusion.
- Jb, London
I think this is a GREAT MOMENT, the people in Iran really care about democracy and are giving up their lives for it. Absolutely Amazing, Long live Democracy !!
I hope the CLOWNS in Washington haven't closed their ears and eyes this time (They usually do), as their so called "friends" and "allies" like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and Egypt don't have even a FRACTION of Democratic values when compared to Iran (when you check the history, you will see my point).
Yet the self proclaimed "leader of the free world" empowers them with Aid and Weapons.....
- R.Minto, London
I think this needs to be watched closely, someone was killed there today amongst the rally. Listening on Radio 4 made me think about what happened in China at tiananmen square and also that some people have been kept under arrest there since that time. (This was something that was not mentioned as we all sat watching the Olympics. Thanks to recent programme by Kate Aidie on BBC I became aware of it).
Surely it is wrong to shot people for having a rally. I wish that the people of Iran have some peace in their lifes and can speak and walk without fear in their country. Something we in the UK also need to think about when looking at certain areas of our inner cities.
- Cel, chester
Well I never, politicians bigger crooks than ours? and in such a nice place too
- Kedge, marlboro wilts
Can't help admiring the way Iranians really care about democracy. In recent elections, all three main UK parties have been found fiddling votes, and nobody demonstrates at all
- Mdj E10, london uk
