TEHRAN IRAN (RPRN) 6/15/2009–Iranian state television reports that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has told defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi to pursue his complaints over the disputed election through legal means.
The report follows two days of sometimes violent street protests in Tehran after officials announced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s landslide victory in Friday’s election.
President Ahmadinejad has said the election was free and fair.
Mr. Mousavi’s supporters have called for a large demonstration in Tehran Monday to protest against what they say is Mr. Ahmadinejad’s fraudulent election victory.
It is not clear if they are going ahead with the rally after Iran’s Interior Ministry announced such a gathering would be illegal.
Meanwhile, diplomatic sources say Mr. Ahmadinejad will not travel to Moscow Monday to attend a summit, as previously announced.
Germany has summoned Iran’s ambassador to immediately explain the events surrounding the election.
Iranian authorities have detained more than 100 people connected to Iran’s opposition political parties.
Reformists said a brother of Iran’s former reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, is among those detained. They also said some activists were released soon after they were rounded up.
Mr. Mousavi has not been seen in public since Friday’s election. He has blamed his defeat on what he says was government voter fraud.
On Sunday, Mr. Mousavi appealed to Iran’s powerful Guardian Council of Islamic clerics for the cancellation of election results.
Official results show Mr. Ahmadinejad won 63 percent of the vote, compared to 34 percent for Mr. Mousavi, his main rival.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.