Iran death-toll mounts as protestors defy ayatollah
The country's main opposition leader has refused to accept the election results
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Ballot boxes are to be upturned and votes recounted in Iran after deadly protests broke out over disputed presidential elections. |  |
Sunday, 21, Jun 2009 09:19
Ten people have been killed in Iran as demonstrations against the country's June 12th presidential elections continue in spite of warnings to cease protests by the country's supreme leader.
On Friday the ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged citizens to accept the results of the poll and threw his weight behind re-elected head of government Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
During the speech, he warned that those choosing to assemble on the day would be responsible for the consequences of unrest.
The warning by the revered cleric did not result in an end to the turmoil in the country's capital, Tehran, as the supreme leader warned in a new statement of "blood, violence and chaos" if demonstrations led by the opposition parties continued.
In response, main opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has warned of "consequences" if "lies and deviations" continued.
Mr Mousavi called for the principles of the country's 1979 Islamic revolution to be followed but warned that he was not against the current Islamic system.
In other news, three people were injured in a suicide bombing on the shrine of Imam Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, in southern Tehran, according to Iranian owned news channel Press TV. The suicide bomber died of his injuries.
Yesterday, opposition leaders met members of the country's guardian council to discuss irregularities in the vote.
The Reuters news agency reports that the country's guardian council has agreed to look into a random sample of ten per cent of the ballots cast.
Restrictions in place on reporting in the country mean that foreign news agencies are not permitted to visit the scene of protests.