Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets of Tehran in protest against the outcome of the country's elections, in the biggest unrest since the 1979 revolution.
Riot police were deployed in the capital on Saturday after about 3,000 supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, a reformist candidate, rioted following the announcement of his defeat by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent president.
The protests intensified following a televised speech by Ahmadinejad in which he said the vote had been "completely free" and the outcome was "a great victory" for Iran.
"Today, the people of Iran have inspired other nations and disappointed their ill-wishers," he said.
"This is a great victory at a time when the ... propaganda facilities outside Iran and sometimes inside Iran were totally mobilised against our people."
Ahmadinejad praised the country's youth, but made no direct mention of the protests.
Read on.
White House is playing it safe:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 13, 2009
Statement by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on the Iranian Election
Like the rest of the world, we were impressed by the vigorous debate and enthusiasm that this election generated, particularly among young Iranians. We continue to monitor the entire situation closely, including reports of irregularities.
1 comment:
After the 2000 and 2004 US elections being fixed we're in no place to judge Iran. Maybe the Iran President learned how Karl Rove fixed the election machines and denied voters their right to vote. The US is now the Poster for how to fix an election for others to follow.
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