Ayatollah: Ahmadinejad is the elected president of Iran
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers first address since Iran elections
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Friday, 19, Jun 2009 01:38
The supreme leader of Iran has endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the country's rightfully-elected president.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his first public address since Friday's poll, said the Islamic Republic of Iran "would not cheat... would not betray the truth of the people".
The ayatollah called on protests led by opposition reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi to end, singling out western politicians and media - particularly Britain and the United States - to blame for fanning the flames of anti-government fervour.
Mr Ahmadinejad's victory was previously blessed by the ayatollah hours after poll results were first announced on Saturday.
"The legal mechanism for election does not allow any cheating," he told thousands of people gathered at Tehran University today in Friday prayers broadcast live on state TV and around the world
"Those involved in the election process are aware of this fact."
The ayatollah said the 11 million vote-difference between Mr Ahmadinejad and opposition reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi was enough to convince him there was no doubt who was the rightful winner.
But he accepted that the country's supreme legislative body, the guardian council, would review complaints through the proper legal channels.
"I will not accept any illegal initiatives," Ayatollah Khamenei said in his sermon, after warning that holding a second election as Mr Mousavi has demanded would lead to a breakdown in trust in all future elections.
The guardian council has already said it is looking into 646 separate complaints over the election, while the three defeated candidates, Mr Mousavi among them, have been invited to talks on Saturday.
In the latest mass demonstrations to engulf Tehran, Mr Mousavi addressed supporters directly following his call for people to take to the streets in 'mourning' for the eight people killed protesting earlier this week.
Reporting on opposition rallies, deemed illegal by the country's interior ministry, by foreign media has been banned, but information is filtering out from the country through social networking internet sites such as Twitter.
Posts have claimed that former prime minister Mr Mousavi told supporters he would continue to protest until a second election was called.
"Twenty-five percent inflation means ignorance, thieving, and corruption. Where is the wealth of my nation?" he asked.
"Iran must participate in fair elections; it is a matter of national importance."
Official results from last Friday's poll gave incumbent Mr Ahmadinejad 62.63 per cent of the vote, compared to 33.75 per cent for Mr Mousavi.
The days since the results were announced on Saturday have been characterised by mass protests in Tehran and elsewhere round the country.
Earlier in his sermon the ayatollah - whose word is final in Iran - described the disputed presidential elections a both a "political earthquake" and an "historic celebration".
He called on Iranians to have faith in the religious democracy of Iran, claiming the "debate and competition [was] so transparent and explicit".
Criticism of the transparency and validity of the election campaign and the results themselves were driven by western politicians and the media they control, the ayatollah added.