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Iran’s Guardian Council Secretary Ayatollah Ahmad Janati confirmed the validity of the June 12 presidential election after a recount of ten percent of the votes across the country. The recount was held in order to clear up ambiguities over the election results, which had been disputed by defeated presidential candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi1.
Meanwhile, defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi stated that he considered the new government of President Ahmadinejad as “illegitimate.” Mousavi also called on the authorities to release detained “children of the revolution” – a reference to leading reformists arrested since the disputed poll. He also called for a lifting of the ban on some moderate newspapers and websites2.
The EU on its part stated that Iran’s decision to put detained British Embassy staff on trial was “not acceptable.” The 27-nation bloc is considering a British request to recall EU ambassadors from Tehran to protest the detentions of local embassy staff. Sweden currently holds the EU presidency3.
- 1. “Guardian Council confirms presidential,” Tehran Times, June 30, 2009, at http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=197949
- 2. “Iran’s Mousavi says new government ‘illegitimate’,” Khaleej Times, July 1, 2009, at http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2...
- 3. “Embassy staff trials in Iran ‘not acceptable’: EU,” Khaleej Times, July 3, 2009, at http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2...