Video: Ahmadinejad Looks Past Demonstrations (and Mousavi's Safety) "Toward the Future"

The Latest from Iran: Demonstrations and An Appeal to the Guardian Council (15 June)

On Saturday, even as crowds were marching on the streets of Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared on national television to claim his victory in an election "at a great juncture in history".

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRjexuNDXrk[/youtube]

Ahmadinejad's future showed up again yesterday, in his first news conference since the election. Asked by CNN's Christiane Amanpour about the treatment of demonstrators by security forces and about a "guarantee" for the safety of challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. he quickly set out the present so he could turn his eyes to months and years beyond: "A new era has been ushered in for the Iranian people" through this election, "a look toward the future and high aspirations". Those alleged protests? "The situation in Iran is in a very good condition and people had been arrested because they had acted against laws".

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQRlf9XkMtw[/youtube]

Latest Updates from Iran: Protests and Rumours (14 June)

NEW The Latest from Iran: Demonstrations and An Appeal to the Guardian Council (15 June)

NEW Video of Protests in and beyond Tehran and Protests in Shiraz and Mashhad
Related Post: Iran and the US - EA’s Chris Emery in The Guardian and Chris Emery on BBC News 24
Related Post: Mousavi Letter to His Supporters (24 June)
Related Post: Iran’s Election - Latest News (13 June)
Related Post: Iran's Election - Ten Indications That The Results Were Altered



We are signing off for the night. Thanks to all who kept up with us today and our thoughts with friends and colleagues in Tehran. We'll be back about 0530 GMT.

2230 GMT: Reports indicate that, although it is 3 a.m. in Iran, people are still milling about and shouting on the streets.

2100 GMT: Claims are coming in that tanks are on the streets of Tehran.

2045 GMT: We're sifting through reports of killings and of political developments; the latest is that Mir Hossein Mousavi will not be allowed to speak at the Tehran rally tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, we have posted latest video from protests yesterday and today.

1920 GMT: Protestors claim to have taken down Ahmadinejad's website by "swarming" it. They are now targeting Ayatollah Khamenei's website.

1845 GMT: Reports of four people killed in demonstrations in Rasht. There are claims of additional minibuses arriving with extra security forces and police.

The rally organised by Mousavi headquarters will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Tehran time (1130 to 1330 GMT) on Monday, marching from Enqelab Square to Azadi (Freedom) Square. Mousavi will address the crowd.

1730 GMT: Numerous reports of clashes at universities across Iran, with students beaten and detained. Universities include Tehran, Sharif, and Guilan in Rasht. Final examinations have been postponed at a number of universities.

According to Tehran Bureau, Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, has confirmed plans for a rally on Monday and a national strike on Tuesday. She made the announcement in a talk to University students in Tehran.

1425 GMT: Although the importance of the public response to the election outcome should not be underestimated, it appears that events may now turn on a power struggle at the highest levels of the Iranian system.

In this reading of developments, it is not just an issue of President Ahmadinejad trying to retain his office but of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, preferring to work with a "new generation" of politicians rather than an older group associated with the years after the Islamic Revolution (examples include Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroubi).

This strategy is now being resisted not only by Mousavi, who has a history of differences with the Supreme Leader from his days as Prime Minister in the 1980s, but also by former President Rafsanjani. Rafsanjani, who lost to Ahmadinejad in the 2005 election, was the target of the current President's attacks just before the election.

Ahmadinejad's latest verbal salvo was his declaration last night that this was the time for the best representatives of the people to come forward and not just those who had worked with the Father of the Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini. Meanwhile, there were stories of Rafsanjani meeting with Mousavi and Karroubi to plan their next steps to overturn the outcome and, consequently, to challenge the Supreme Leader.

We're preparing a full analysis of this struggle for Monday.

1300 GMT: Pro-Mousavi outlets are saying that there will be a march along Vali Asr Boulevard, a main Tehran north-south road, on Monday and a national strike on Tuesday.

1220 GMT: We have received our first message from Iran via Facebook in more than 24 hours.

Reports from Sharif University claim more than 2000 people are protesting.

1145 GMT: Iranian authorities have closed down Al-Arabiya's bureau in Tehran.

1130 GMT: Have just returned from a jogging break to join President Ahmadinejad's news conference in progress. Ahmadinejad, after declaring the Friday result was "the will of the people", is playing the nationalist card, in particular the Iran v. the "West" card. He is attacking Western media for their interference and saying that Western countries only accept "democracy" if the decision goes the way that they wish.

1025 GMT: The Mousavi campaign has told Al Jazeera that it will appeal to the Guardian Council, and it has applied to the Ministry of the Interior for a permit to hold a rally in Tehran. Al Jazeera's correspondent, continuing to be extremely careful on-air, has downplayed the move to the Guardian Council, as there is "no indication the election was anything but free and fair".

0955 GMT: Reports of protests at Sharif University, with 120 faculty resigning.

0910 GMT: Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tehran is being very careful with what he says on-air. He is cautious in references to demonstrations and questions the reports of arrest of more than 100 activists.

Students at Tehran University report that security forces entered the dormitories during the night. Further demonstrations are planned for today.

Protesters have blocked one of the major expressways in/out of Tehran, bringing traffic to a standstill.

0905 GMT: Al Jazeera reports that the Ministry of the Interior has prohibited any unapproved public gathering but the order is being defied. This is apparent "spontaneous", as Mousavi headquarters are not supporting a public rally at this point. There are now reports of tear gas being used on demonstrators near Ahmadinejad headquarters.

Reports are also emerging of demonstrations and clashes in Rasht.

0900 GMT: There is still contact via the Internet with Iran, although reports are that the service is extremely slow, and there are fears of monitoring by security services.

Reports, apparently based on information given several hours ago to Reuters by former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, are that more than 100 "reformist" activists have been arrested. According to Abtahi, many of those arrested were members of the party Mosharekat. The brother of former President Mohammad Khatami is also reportedly among those detained.

0740 GMT: I have just seen an extraordinary interview on Al Jazeera. Professor Sadegh Zibakalam, the head of Iranian Studies at the University of Tehran, in contrast to the official line, commented on "spontaneous" demonstrations, emphasizing that they are without leadership so far. He added that there are rumours of the house arrest of Mousavi and also of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Zibakalam then began to criticise the Government reaction as "too harsh". At that point the feed to Al Jazeera was cut.

0735 GMT: Attention will soon turn to both the official Ahmadinejad victory celebration and any counter-demonstrations and rallies. Already there is tension over a supposed call for Mousavi supporters to rally in front of his campaign headquarters at 12:30 Tehran time --- some believe this is a trap laid by security forces, and Mousavi's office is calling on people to hold back from attending.

MORNING UPDATE 0700 GMT: The last few hours have been dominated by stories that opposition leaders, including Presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, have been put under house arrest. Just before midnight GMT, the news of Mousavi's arrest was sent on Twitter by a pro-Mousavi activist (who is also the source of the dramatic photos we mentioned in yesterday's updates).

It is very difficult to get any information on this, as well as claims that up to 100 Iranians have been killed in protests. Social media such as Facebook have been cut, mobile phone service has been suspended or restricted, and it appears the Internet has been cut or seriously disrupted. Important but sometimes unverified information can be gathered through a few websites such as Tehran Bureau (although access to this is now difficult --- the Twitter site is still working). Our most important link to news now is via first-hand testimony on Twitter --- we have to be careful about unverified claims and even mis-information, but are doing our best to cross-check.

Press TV English has turned into an outlet for Ahmadinejad's victory. It has just led its news with stories of Ayatollah Khamenei's endorsement of the outcome, Ahmadinejad's speech, and a report of the vote. They also had a political analyst denouncing Mousavi's press conference on Friday claiming victory (although another analyst then wondered how Mousavi received only a third of the vote when "everyone" in Tehran was claiming to vote for him. The only reference to the demonstrations was a brief anodyne shot of a couple of protestors with the follow-up that the police said "everything was under control".

Iran's Election: Reactions Around the World

After the purported re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the President of Iran, a selection of reactions both from inside Iran and from the rest of the world:

Mir Hossein Mousavi, Reformist Candidate:

“I'm warning I will not surrender to this dangerous charade. The result... will jeopardize the pillars of the Islamic Republic and will establish tyranny.”

Mehdi Karroubi, Reformist Candidate:

“Evidently the results and the institution coming out of such a vote count is illegitimate and unacceptable.”

Mohsen Rezai, Conservative Candidate:

“It is obvious that the person who has been declared president following the legal procedures is the president of all Iranian people. I will support him in a bid to prevent any delays in the provision of services to the people.”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader:

“The chosen and respected president is the president of all the Iranian nation and everyone, including yesterday's competitors, must unanimously support and help him.”

Hamid Karzai, Afghan President:

“The selection of Dr Ahmadinejad with a definitive majority of the Iranian people's vote is a suitable selection for the continuous progress and welfare of the Iranian nation.”

Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli Foreign Minister:

“Given the continued Iranian policies, and particularly following the victory and continued rule of Ahmadinejad, the international community must continue to act in an uncompromising manner to stop Iran from going nuclear, stop its support for terror organisations and its undermining of Middle East stability.”

Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary-General:

“We hope that the next term will witness progress on the relations between Iran and the Arab world and co-operation in establishing peace in the Middle East.”

Bashar Al-Assad, Syrian President:

Expressed "his faith that relations and co-operation will be reinforced between Syria and Iran."

Ali Al-Dabbagh, Iraqi Government Spokesman:

“Iraq will deal with any choice that is decided by the Iranian people. Iraq hopes to maintain friendly relations with Iran.”

Fawzi Salloukh, Lebanese Foreign Minister:

“We hope that the success of President Ahmadinejad in Iran will be in the service of peace and calmness in the Middle East.”

Fawzi Barhum, Hamas Spokesman:

“The results of the Iranian election are a victory for Iranian democracy, the Iranian people, the leaders and all parties and factions that participated.”

Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State:

“We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran. But we, like the rest of the world, are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide. We obviously hope that the outcome reflects the genuine will and desire of the Iranian people.”

EU Presidency:

“The presidency is concerned about alleged irregularities during the election process and post-election violence that broke out immediately after the release of the official election results on 13 June 2009. The presidency hopes that the outcome of the presidential elections will bring the opportunity to resume dialogue on the nuclear issue and clear up the Iranian position in this regard.”

French Foreign Ministry:

“We have noted the results of the presidential elections in Iran as announced by the Iranian authorities, which returned Mr Ahmadinejad for a second term as head of the Iranian government, and that they are contested by two of the candidates. We are continuing to follow the situation closely.”

Lawrance Cannon, Canadian Foreign Minister:

“Canada is deeply, deeply concerned by reports about voting irregularities in the Iranian election. We're troubled by reports of intimidation of opposition candidates' offices by security forces.”

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Foreign Minister:

“The violent actions of the security forces against demonstrators is not acceptable, nor is preventing peaceful protest. We will continue to monitor the situation on the ground very carefully.”

Iran and the US: EA's Chris Emery in The Guardian

The Guardian of London has just posted an outstanding analysis by Enduring America's Chris Emery (who, along with Scott Lucas, appeared on BBC News 24 yesterday to evaluate the tensions in Iran and the effect on US-Iranian relations):

Facing Reality in Iran

In contrast to the drama unfolding on the streets of Iran, the key non-event outside the country is the lack of reaction from the Obama administration. Contrary to the position taken by the Bush administration in cases from the Ukraine to Georgia and Lebanon, there will be no welcoming or encouraging of a velvet revolution in Iran. The Obama administration is, instead, preparing itself to deal with whoever emerges as president. Despite the protestations of Mir-Hossein Mousavi's supporters, this will almost certainly be the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. While the United States would have strongly preferred to be dealing with a Mousavi administration, the basic strategic and political rationale for US-Iranian rapprochement remains unchanged.

Read rest of article....

Iran: Text of Mousavi Letter to His Supporters (13 June)

The translated text of the letter released by Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi to his supporters on Saturday afternoon:

In the Name of God

Honorable people of Iran

The reported results of the 10th Iranians residential Election are appalling. The people who witnessed the mixture of votes in long lineups know who they have voted for and observe the wizardry of I.R.I.B [Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting] and election officials.

Now more than ever before they want to know how and by which officials this game plan has been designed. I object fully to the current procedures and obvious and abundant deviations from law on the day of election and alert people to not surrender to this dangerous plot. Dishonesty and corruption of officials as we have seen will only result in weakening the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran and empowers lies and dictatorships.

I am obliged, due to my religious and national duties, to expose this dangerous plot and to explain its devastating effects on the future of Iran. I am concerned that the continuation of the current situation will transform all key members of this regime into fabulists in confrontation with the nation and seriously jeopardize them in this world and the next.

I advise all officials to halt this agenda at once before it is too late, return to the rule of law and protect the nation’s vote and know that deviation from law renders them illegitimate. They are aware better than anyone else that this country has been through a grand Islamic revolution and the least message of this revolution is that our nation is alert and will oppose anyone who aims to seize the power against the law.

I use this chance to honor the emotions of the nation of Iran and remind them that Iran, this sacred being, belongs to them and not to the fraudulent. It is you who should stay alert. The traitors to the nation’s vote have no fear if this house of Persians burns in flames. We will continue with our green wave of rationality that is inspired by our religious learnings and our love for prophet Mohammad and will confront the rampage of lies that has appeared and marked the image of our nation. However we will not allow our movement to become blind one.

I thank every citizen who took part in spreading this green message by becoming a campaigner and all official and self organized campaigns, I insist that their presence is essential until we achieve results deserving of our country.

[Verse from Koran: Why not trust in God, who has shown us our ways. We are patient in face of what disturbs us. Our resilience is in God.]

Mir Hossein Mousavi