Brave Iranians

After claiming credit for the newly-invigorated “debate” in the Iranian presidential election, and the possible overthrow of Ahmadinejad, Obama must now be quite disappointed to see he was not able to control the outcome as Ahamadinejad is re-elected.   Apparently Obama’s eloquent words spoken in Cairo were not enough to convince the ruling dictators to hand the presidency to a more reform-minded candidate.

Thousands of angry protesters have clashed with police after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of Iran’s presidential poll.  Secret police have been attacked, while riot police used batons and tear gas against backers of Mir Hossein Mousavi, who called the results a “charade”.

Correspondents say the violence is the worst seen in Tehran in a decade.  In a televised address to the nation, Mr Ahmadinejad thanked voters for giving him a “great victory”.  He said the people of Iran wanted justice, development, an end to corruption and for their country’s name to be respected.  The official results gave Mr Ahmadinejad 63% of the vote against just 34% for Mr Mousavi.

BBC World News Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the high turnout of 85%, described the count as a “real celebration” and called for calm.  ”Enemies may want to spoil the sweetness of this event… with some kind of ill-intentioned provocations,” the ayatollah said.  Mr Mousavi has also claimed victory, as his supporters said the election had been stolen and vowed to seek a re-run. But observers say this would have little chance of success.  Some of the protesters in Tehran wore Mr Mousavi’s campaign colour of green and chanted “Down with the dictator”, news agencies report. Four police motorbikes were set on fire near the interior ministry, where votes had been counted, the BBC’s John Simpson in Tehran says.  Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli warned that any demonstrations needed official permission, and none had been given.

One opposition newspaper has been closed down and BBC websites also appear to have been blocked by the Iranian authorities. The AP news agency reports that mobile phone services have been blocked in Tehran.  Mr Mousavi was hoping to prevent Mr Ahmadinejad winning more than 50% of the vote, in order to force a run-off election. Danger of ‘tyranny’ Mr Ahmadinejad said the world, especially the Western media, had waged a campaign of “psychological warfare” against the people of Iran during the election. “It was clear what the majority of people wanted,” he said. He said the election had been free but did not go into details about the complaints of rigging and did not mention the violence.

Mr Mousavi, a former prime minister, earlier dismissed the election result as deeply flawed. “I personally strongly protest the many obvious violations and I’m warning I will not surrender to this dangerous charade,” the Reuters news agency reported him as saying.  ”The result of such performance by some officials will jeopardise the pillars of the Islamic Republic and will establish tyranny.”  Mr Mousavi had said there was a shortage of ballot papers and alleged that millions of people had been denied the right to vote. His election monitors were not allowed enough access to polling stations, he added.

The BBC’s Jon Leyne in Tehran says the result has been greeted with surprise and with deep scepticism by many Iranians.  The figures, if they are to be believed, show Mr Ahmadinejad winning strongly even in the heartland of Mr Mousavi. The scale of Mr Ahmadinejad’s win means that many people who voted for a reformist candidate in the previous presidential election four years ago have apparently switched their votes to Mr Ahmadinejad, he adds.  However, the president does enjoy the support of many of the urban poor and rural dwellers.  ”I am happy that my candidate has won -- he helps the poor and he catches the thieves,” sandwich seller Kamra Mohammadi, 22, told the AFP news agency. Mr Mousavi gains much of his support from the middle classes and the educated urban population.

Tags: iran