Iran : Rassemblements massifs en faveur du régime islamique
Crédits photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Des centaines de milliers de manifestants pro-gouvernementaux se sont rassemblés mercredi dans plusieurs villes d’Iran, à l’appel des autorités. Ils ont clamé leur fidélité au régime clérical et accusé les dirigeants d’opposition de semer le chaos dans la République islamique

Des dizaines de manifestations en province ont rassemblé des foules importantes, selon les médias officiels. Les manifestants dénonçaient «les hypocrites séditieux» et réclamaient parfois leur «pendaison», selon des images de la télévision iranienne.

A Téhéran, des centaines de milliers de personnes ont participé à plusieurs cortèges pour dénoncer le «complot» visant a «renverser le régime islamique», selon les termes d’un communiqué officiel. Des drapeaux américains et britanniques ont été brûlés.

Ces rassemblements ont été organisés à l’appel des autorités. Mais les administrations ont également appelé à descendre dans la rue, tout comme des corps officiels comme les Gardiens de la révolution, des écoles théologiques, des associations locales, certains bazars comme celui de Qom, qui a fermé, et certaines entreprises d’Etat.

Les médias étrangers, soumis à des restrictions, ne pouvaient pas couvrir les éventuels rassemblements d’opposition. «Mort à Moussavi» >>> ATS | Mercredi 30 Décembre 2009

NZZ ONLINE: Demonstranten in Teheran fordern Moussavis Tod:Oppositionsführer laut Staatsagentur aus Teheran geflüchtet – oder weggebracht >>> sda/dpa/afp/Reuters | Mittwoch, 30. Dezember 2009

Lessons in Revolution, via YouTube
THE SUNDAY TIMES: EVERY evening before dinner, Mohsen Sazegara disappears into the basement of his cosy suburban house in Virginia and makes a 10-minute home movie to post on YouTube.

Far from showcasing the talents of his sons or pets, Sazegara’s videos are of protest tactics aimed at bringing down a regime. His house is the epicentre of what he hopes will be the world’s first technological revolution and his videos are watched more than 6,000 miles away in Iran.

Six months after the disputed presidential election in Iran, the opposition has refused to give up despite a crackdown that has seen arrests, beatings, torture and show trials. Co-ordination of the so-called green revolution has increasingly moved overseas, where exiles are using the new media to spread the message.

Last week, when tens of thousands of students took to the streets of Iran in some of the biggest demonstrations since the elections, Sazegara had been sending instructions via Facebook, YouTube and email.

He stands in front of a green baize screen decorated with a V for victory and the movement’s slogan, “Green means resistance until spring comes”. After a brief assessment of the day’s events, he offers Iranians new ideas for fighting the regime.

They have good reason to listen. Thirty years ago, as a young revolutionary, he helped to topple the Shah, putting today’s Islamic regime in power and working as a speechwriter for its founding father, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Sazegara was one of the founders of the Revolutionary Guard. Now he is teaching protesters how to tackle the force.

“In one part of my life I was involved in creating something; now, after 30 years, I’m trying to destroy it,” he said. >>> Christina Lamb in Virginia | Sunday, December 13, 2009

Mohsen Sazegara on CNN Explains Who Rules Iran

Mousavi Supporters March in Tehran


Nov 4 - Video footage posted on the internet appears to show supporters of Iran's opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi marching in a rally in the country's capital Tehran.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters coverage is subject to an Iranian ban on foreign media leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran[.]

Witnesses said that police had clashed with hundreds of protesters who were chanting 'Death to dictators'.

Reformist website, Mowjcamp, said police opened fire on supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi at Haft-e Tir square.

The clashes came during a rally marking the 30th anniversary of the storming of the U.S. embassy.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards and its allied Basij militia have warned the opposition to avoid using any anti-U.S. rally to revive protests against the clerical establishment after June's disputed presidential election in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a second term.

Iran: Khatami et Karoubi rejoignent un mouvement lancé par Moussavi
LE POINT: L'ancien président réformateur Mohammad Khatami et l'ex-candidat réformateur à la présidentielle Mehdi Karoubi, ont rejoint le "Chemin vert de l'espoir", mouvement récemment lancé par l'un des chefs de file de l'opposition, Mir Hossein Moussavi, selon l'agence Ilna. "Le conseil central du Chemin vert de l'espoir sera formé par un petit groupe de personnes, de cinq à six, parmi lesquelles MM. Khatami et Karoubi", a expliqué Alireza Beheshti, un collaborateur de M. Moussavi, cité par Ilna.

Ce mouvement a été lancé pour poursuivre la contestation de la réélection du président Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a rapporté dimanche le quotidien réformateur Etemad Melli. "Le Chemin vert de l'espoir est constitué pour défendre les demandes légitimes du peuple et l'obtention de ses droits", a expliqué Mir Hossein Moussavi lors d'une réunion, à une date non précisée, avec des membres de l'Association des médecins islamiques, selon le journal. >>> AFP | Mardi 18 Août 2009

Les Gardiens de la révolution veulent «punir» Moussavi
LE FIGARO: Un haut responsable de l'armée idéologique du régime iranien appelle à juger les candidats de l'opposition et l'ancien président réformateur Mohammad Khatami, accusés d'avoir fomenté un complot contre le pouvoir.

L'Iran n'en a pas fini avec les procès contre les opposants. Dimanche, un haut responsable des Gardiens de la révolution s'en est pris nommément aux deux candidats de l'opposition, Mir Hossein Moussavi et Mehdi Karoubi, et à l'ancien président réformateur Mohammad Khatami. Yadwollah Javani, chef du bureau politique de cette force d'élite du régime, accuse les trois hommes d'avoir participé à un complot qui visait à orchestrer une «révolution de velours» contre la République islamique.

«Quel est le rôle de Khatami, Moussavi et Karoubi dans ce coup d'Etat ?», a-t-il lancé. «S'ils en sont les instigateurs, et c'est le cas, les responsables de la justice et de la sécurité doivent les arrêter, les juger et les punir pour éteindre les feux de ce complot», affirme Yadwollah Javani dans un article publié dans Sobhe Sadegh, l'hebdomadaire du bureau politique des Gardiens de la révolution. Khatami, Moussavi et Karoubi ont tous les trois demandé l'annulation de la présidentielle du 12 juin, qui a conduit à la réélection de Mahmoud Ahmadinejad à la tête du pays. >>> B.F. (lefigaro.fr) avec agences | Dimanche 09 Août 2009

La contestation redescend dans la rue à Téhéran
Un bassidji pointe son pistolet lacrymogène en direction d'un homme, hier, à Téhéran, lors d'une manifestation antigouvernementale qui a dégénéré en affrontements violents. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Le prêche de l'ayatollah Ali Akbar Hachemi Rafsandjani, prétexte du rassemblement de vendredi, a étalé au grand jour les dissensions au sommet de régime.

Jamais foule aussi dense et hétéroclite ne s'était donné rendez-vous à la prière du vendredi. Des milliers de partisans du leader de l'opposition, Mir Hossein Moussavi, ont rejoint exceptionnellement, vendredi, la masse traditionnelle des fidèles abonnés à ce rassemblement qui se tient, chaque semaine, à l'université de Téhéran. «Les avenues qui entouraient l'université étaient pleines à craquer. Sous leur tchador, certaines femmes portaient symboliquement un foulard vert - la couleur de Moussavi. Des hommes faisaient le «V » de la victoire avec leurs mains», raconte Reza, un témoin qui s'est rendu sur place.

Une occasion hautement symbolique, puisqu'après un mois de silence, l'ayatollah Ali Akbar Hachemi Rafsandjani était attendu à la tribune. C'est la première fois que cet homme clé du régime, qui soutient Moussavi - également présent à la grande prière - s'exprimait publiquement depuis le résultat du scrutin du 12 juin. «La République islamique court à sa perte si le vote du peuple n'est pas pris en considération», a prévenu Rafsandjani, en référence à la réélection contestée de son ennemi politique, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, contre lequel il avait lui-même fait campagne en 2005. Sa déclaration, qui contraste avec l'intransigeance jusqu'alors affichée du pouvoir, est une nouvelle illustration des fissures qui prévalent au sommet de l'État iranien.

Après avoir évoqué une «solution» possible à la crise, sans en donner les détails, Rafsandjani s'est ouvertement insurgé contre les arrestations de ces dernières semaines, tout en déplorant les atteintes à la liberté de la presse. «Au final, il n'a rien proposé de concret, mais le seul fait de mettre en cause le résultat du scrutin signifie son soutien indirect au mouvement de protestation», relève un journaliste iranien. >>> Beyrouth, Delphine Minoui | Vendredi 17 Juillet 2009

YOUTUBE: Tehran, Friday July 17, 2009

Leading Clerics Defy Ayatollah on Disputed Iran Election
THE NEW YORK TIMES: CAIRO — The most important group of religious leaders in Iran called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate on Saturday, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment.

A statement by the group, the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum, represents a significant, if so far symbolic, setback for the government and especially the authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose word is supposed to be final. The government has tried to paint the opposition and its top presidential candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, as criminals and traitors, a strategy that now becomes more difficult — if not impossible.

“This crack in the clerical establishment, and the fact they are siding with the people and Moussavi, in my view is the most historic crack in the 30 years of the Islamic republic,” said Abbas Milani, director of the Iranian Studies Program at Stanford University. “Remember, they are going against an election verified and sanctified by Khamenei.” >>> Michael Slackman and Nazila Fathi | Saturday, July 04, 2009

Moussavi bietet dem Regime in Iran weiter die Stirn: Miliz fordert Ermittlungen gegen Oppositionsführer
NZZ Online: Trotz drohender Strafverfolgung bietet der iranische Oppositionsführer Moussavi der Staatsführung weiter die Stirn. Er bekräftigte am Mittwoch seinen Widerstand gegen die Wiederwahl von Präsident Ahmadinejad. Die Basij-Miliz forderte unterdessen strafrechtliche Ermittlungen gegen Moussavi.

Die Präsidentenwahl vom 12. Juni sei illegitim gewesen, erklärte der nach offizieller Lesart unterlegene Kandidat in einer Internetbotschaft. Ausserdem forderte Moussavi die Freilassung aller politischen Gefangenen sowie Pressefreiheit und eine Wahlrechtsreform. >>> ap | Mittwoch, 01. Juli 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Mir-Hossein Mousavi Calls Iran Election Illegitimate in Renewed Defiance of Ayatollah

Iran's reform leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi urged his supporters on Wednesday to continue to fight for "the rights of the people" in his first rallying cry since the regime validated the results of the country's disputed presidential election.

Mr Mousavi reasserted his claim that the June 12 election was illegitimate, and demanded that Iran's hardline government release all political prisoners and institute electoral reforms and press freedom.

His latest defiance came as the Basij militia accused the opposition leader of undermining national security and asked a prosecutor to investigate his role in violent protests.

The move came amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the West.

On Wednesday, a senior Iranian military official suggested that nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the West would be further stalled in the wake of the protests, which the regime has accused European powers of masterminding.

Iran has particularly targeted Britain as an instigator of the protests, and on Monday arrested nine local employees of Britain's embassy in Tehran. Five were released on Monday night.

"It's not yet too late," said Mr Mousavi, who has slipped from public view in recent days. "It's our historic responsibility to continue our complaint and make efforts not to give up the rights of the people." >>> | Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Iran: Mousavi Spoke to Al Jazeera Before the Contested Election

Robert Fisk: Iran's Day of Destiny
THE INDEPENDENT: Fisk witnesses the courage of one million protesters who ignored threats, guns and bloodshed to demand freedom in Iran

Photo: The Independent
It was Iran's day of destiny and day of courage. A million of its people marched from Engelob Square to Azadi Square – from the Square of Revolution to the Square of Freedom – beneath the eyes of Tehran's brutal riot police. The crowds were singing and shouting and laughing and abusing their "President" as "dust".

Mirhossein Mousavi was among them, riding atop a car amid the exhaust smoke and heat, unsmiling, stunned, unaware that so epic a demonstration could blossom amid the hopelessness of Iran's post-election bloodshed. He may have officially lost last Friday's election, but yesterday was his electoral victory parade through the streets of his capital. It ended, inevitably, in gunfire and blood.

Not since the 1979 Iranian Revolution have massed protesters gathered in such numbers, or with such overwhelming popularity, through the boulevards of this torrid, despairing city. They jostled and pushed and crowded through narrow lanes to reach the main highway and then found riot police in steel helmets and batons lined on each side. The people ignored them all. And the cops, horribly outnumbered by these tens of thousands, smiled sheepishly and – to our astonishment – nodded their heads towards the men and women demanding freedom. Who would have believed the government had banned this march? >>> Robert Fisk | Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Shots Fired as Thousands Take to the Streets of Iran to Protest Election Results
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi has joined hundreds of thousands of supporters at a mass rally in Tehran to protest against alleged vote rigging.

Con Coughlin on Iran election results
Despite official orders banning the demonstration from going ahead, Mr Mousavi addressed his followers as they chanted "give us back our votes".

Standing on a car roof and speaking to the surging crowds through a loud hailer, he declared: "The vote of the people is more important than Mousavi or any other person."

In contrast to a previous rally on Saturday, the security forces made no attempt to break up the gathering, although there were occasional clashes with bystanders suspected to be supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

As night fell, there were reports of gunmen firing on protesters, killing at least one person and wounding several others in Tehran's Azadi Square. The shooting is thought to have come from a compound for volunteer militia linked to the Revolutionary Guard.

But most police stood watching with their helmets and shields at their sides, while protesters – wearing the green wristbands, scarves and hats that have symbolised the Mousavi campaign – urged them to join in the demonstration.

"Law enforcers, support us, support us!" they shouted. "You are green like us!" Others urged Mohammad Khatami, the former president who pioneered the reformist movement and who backed Mr Mousavi's candidacy, to also attend the rally. Mr Khatami had earlier criticised the authorities for denying permission for the demonstration, and said that the election had dented public trust in the regime. >>> By Colin Freeman | Monday, June 15, 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Hardliners Open Fire as Tension Grips Tehran

Tehran was a tinderbox last night after government paramilitaries started shooting during a huge public protest against last Friday's disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Members of the Basij, a force of young Islamic hardliners, killed one demonstrator and wounded several more when their building was attacked, after tens of thousands of demonstrators held a rally against election fraud in defiance of a government ban.

In another incident, a witness told The Times how she watched from her car as riot police on six motorbikes opened fire on youths walking under a bridge after the rally.

“The riot police started shooting them with big guns,” she said. “It wasn’t like the films where there is just a small hole — the shooting was blowing off hands, limbs. It was terrrible, terrible.”

Gunfire was heard in at least three other districts of the Iranian capital. The Ministry of the Interior was rumoured to have authorised the use of live ammunition as the regime struggled to maintain control. Supporters of the defeated candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, fought running battles with the police and Basiji, who have flooded into Tehran. >>> Martin Fletcher | Tuesday, June 16, 2009

We Fight On. We Fight to Win!
THE TELEGRAPH: YouTube, Facebook and other websites have brought down a virtual wall between Iran and the West, writes Leyla Ferani.

Iranian supporters of presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi attend a protest. Photo: The Telegraph
Earlier this year I spent a month living in Tehran. I’m a 21 year-old British-Iranian from London, and it was my first time back to the Islamic Republic since my twelfth birthday. By day, I dutifully donned a shawl and an overcoat, in public playing the part – like all Iranian girls my age – of the respectful and obedient woman.

But at night, and in private, the shawls were off. The same girls – with their brothers and cousins – joined me in underground raves, fuelled by smuggled alcohol and copious amounts of cannabis. Among the city’s youth, the elections hardly entered conversation. When I asked Mazyiar, a twenty-six year-old, if he would vote, he shrugged, saying, “All the candidates are approved by the Ayatollah, what’s the point?”

In the space of two months, all that has changed. “Where is my vote?”, thousands of young Iranians are chanting in the streets and posting on their supposedly banned Facebook profiles. One look at my own feed tells me how cheated the young people of Iran feel, now that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been re-elected for another four years. “Shout out on the street: ‘Death to the dictator’”, one status tells me, adding cautiously , “but remember not to protest in groups, you must stay dispersed.” Another one says simply, “Supporters of Mousavi protest from Vali-Aser square to Tajrish wearing green cloth”.

All the young Iranians who told me they wouldn’t vote surged behind Mir-Hossein Mousavi; maybe they saw him as the lesser of two evils, the only candidate able to oust the hardliner. One thing is certain: for young middle class Iranians the strained veneer of the Islamist regime is crumbling. They are sick of leading double lives, and having a President they consider to be a global embarrassment.

“I have a good life, I party harder than you guys do”, a twenty-four year old student told me at a party in downtown Tehran, just managing to lift his voice above the music (the lyrics ‘I wanna make love’ blared out). He went on, with typical Persian hyperbole: “I feel a heaviness in my heart, because I know that I’m not living the way I want to.” Judging by the events of the last few days, this heaviness has turned to anger, as young Iranians battled with riot police in the streets, setting fire to cars and fleeing the stun grenades.

If it ever happens, young Iranians believe they will be the ones to dismantle Iran’s Islamist regime. There is some irony in this – after all, a generation ago it was the students who began the 1979 revolution. That year, on November 4, a fresh-faced Ahmadinejad was among those who stormed the US embassy, beginning the Iran hostage crisis.

Those events confirmed fears that the newly formed Islamic republic was to be a pariah to the West. Yet it was only around 500 students who volunteered to be the vessel for the 1979 change. Now in Islamic garb, they are running the country. But is their time running out?

The recent protests have a new dimension: they were organised – and publicised – online. Iranians intent on change are using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other blogging sites as a loudspeaker to amplify their anger towards the regime. Iran can no longer suppress its youth >>> Leyla Ferani | Monday, June 15, 2009

Khamenei ordnet Überprüfung der Wahl an: Moussavi-Lager sagt Kundgebungen vorläufig ab
NZZ Online: Der geistliche Führer von Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hat laut einem Bericht des staatlichen Fernsehens eine Überprüfung der Präsidentenwahl angeordnet. Der Vorwurf des Wahlbetrugs solle untersucht werden, hiess es am Montag.

Das Ergebnis der umstrittenen Präsidentenwahl in Iran soll amtlich überprüft werden. Nach heftigen Protesten und Vorwürfen das Wahlbetrugs ordnete das geistliche Staatsoberhaupt Ayatollah Ali Khamenei am Montag eine Untersuchung an, wie das staatliche Fernsehen berichtete. Zuvor hatte der offiziell unterlegene Reformkandidat Mir-Hossein Moussavi eine Annullierung der Wahl gefordert. Die EU und die Bundesregierung zeigten sich sehr besorgt über die Eskalation. >>> ap/sda | Montag, 15. Juni 2009

Tens of Thousands Defy Ban to March in Tehran in Support of Mousavi
TIMES ONLINE: Tens of thousands of Iranians defied a ban to protest against last week’s hotly-disputed presidential election result as the authorities struggled to contain anger amongst the reformist opposition.

Chanting crowds, some wearing green campaign colours, greeted Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated candidate in Friday's poll, as he slowly moved through the streets on the back of a four-wheel drive car.

Scufflles broke out as supporters of Mr Ahmadinejad, riding motorbikes and armed with sticks, attacked the demonstrators along the route.

"The vote of the people is more important than Mousavi or any other person!" said Mr Mousavi, standing on the car roof in Revolution Square and speaking through a loudhailer.

The crowds of young and old who packed several kilometres of his route, shouted back: "Mousavi we support you! We will die but retrieve our votes!" >>> Jenny Booth | Monday, June 15, 2009

Watch BBC video: Thousands of Mir Hossein Mousavi supporters protest in Tehran >>>

REUTERS: Tens of Thousands in Iran Protest

Tehran Is Running Scared of the Uncontrollable Forces of Freedom
TIMES ONLINE: The surge of revolt threatened to become a tidal wave. So the Islamic republic responded with ‘a coup against the coup[’]

Iran seldom admits the international media. It makes an exception at election times because it wants the world to see the Islamic republic's glorious democracy in action. Thus some 400 foreign journalists and television crews were given ten-day visas to cover Friday's presidential election, and for a week we really did see a vibrant and impressive democratic process.

Admittedly the four candidates were handpicked by the regime, but they ranged from the liberal to ultra-conservative, offered starkly contrasting visions for the future and engaged in remarkably outspoken TV debates. The people responded. Armies of supporters took over the streets, festooned every square with posters and banners and, on election day itself, flocked to the polling stations in numbers that shamed most Western democracies.

The charade ended abruptly on Friday night. Scarcely had polling ended than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cronies in the Interior Ministry and Elections Commission declared him the winner. They gave him not a razor-thin victory, which might just have been credible - the President did have legions of diehard supporters among the pious and rural poor. They gave him nearly two thirds of the vote, a figure that defied belief and raised two unmistakable fingers to the Iranian people and the world. They claimed that the main challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, lost heavily even in his own village. The number of votes allegedly cast for Mr Ahmadinejad, 24.5 million, was probably chosen so that he could claim to have more support than any president in the republic's 30-year history. The previous high was just over 20 million, cast for the reformist Mohammad Khatami in 1997.

The crackdown began instantly. Mobile phone and text messaging systems were taken down so the opposition could not organise. Opposition websites and international news services were blocked. Baton-wielding security forces flooded on to the streets. Overnight the festive atmosphere turned to fear, exuberance to terror, as the regime showed how evil it is.

All weekend protests were ruthlessly suppressed. Demonstrators were beaten. Foreign journalists, including a reporter and photographer from The Times, were detained. Leading reformists were arrested. Iran's “Prague Spring”, its “Velvet Revolution”, was crushed with Soviet-style ruthlessness by a regime practised in silencing dissent. Mr Ahmadinejad, the self-styled man of the people and champion of the oppressed, unleashed the full force of the state machinery on his own population. Meanwhile, congratulations poured in from... well, Syria and Venezuela.

Why the volte-face? Why did the regime open the door a crack, only to slam it shut so violently? Almost certainly because it was appalled by what it saw on the other side. >>> Martin Fletcher | Monday, June 15, 2009

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 'Takes Back Tehran' with Hardliners, as Police Resort to Beatings
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brought tens of thousands of supporters into the heart of Tehran tonight in a bid to take back the capital after a weekend of vicious running battles between state security forces and large crowds of Iranians who insist that Mr Ahmadinejad stole last Friday’s presidential election.

Chanting ’Allah o’Akbar” (God is great) and “Ahmadi we love you”, the army of zealous hardliners poured into the central square in a massive show of strength designed to intimidate the furious supporters of Mr Ahmadinejad’s relatively moderate opponent, Mir Hossein Mousavi.

They came from far beyond Tehran. “The protestors are lying. There was no cheating,” declared Farang Kamalwand, 39, a chador-clad woman who had travelled 700 kilometres by bus from Lorestan. “We came to prove to people outside this country that we love and support our president,” said Karamollah Rahimi, a builder who had journeyed nine hours from Lordegan.

Mr Mousavi, 67, a former prime minister, has been in hiding since Friday night, but has issued a stream of internet statements urging his supporters to continue their nationwide protests against an election he called a “charade”: some results were announced before the ballot boxes had even been opened. Tonight, he appealed to the Guardian Council, a powerful body of senior clerics, to declare the election void.

Zahra Rahnavard, Mr Mousavi’s wife, accused Mr Ahmadinejad of “dictatorship”, saying: “The Iranian people voted to change Ahmadinejad, but this vote became a vote to solidify Ahmadinejad.” Mousavi aides accused the regime of mounting a “coup d’etat”.

Britain, the United States and other western governments expressed serious concern. Several leading reformists have been arrested including, briefly, the brother of Mohammed Khatami, the former president.

As the regime used overwhelming physical force, electronic jamming and censorship to suppress protests raging barely a mile from his presidential office, Mr Amadinejad gave a surreal, Orwellian press conference at which he called his victory an “epic achievement” that made Iran’s brand of religious democracy, with its emphasis on ethics, a model for the world. >>> Martin Fletcher in Tehran | Sunday, June 14, 2009

Mir Hossein Mousavi Music Video for Iran Election June 2009

Iran Elections: Ahmadinejad Declared Winner as Mousavi Supporters Clash with Police
THE TELEGRAPH: Iranian officials say Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has an unassailable lead in the country's presidential elections, prompting angry claims of vote rigging from his reformist rival Mir Hossein Mousavi and sparking scenes of violence.

A female supporter of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad displays her hand painted with the Iranian flag, also used as a sign for his party. Photo: The Telegraph
In a statement on Saturday morning, the interior ministry said the incumbent president had won 65 per cent of the votes, with nearly 90 per cent of ballot boxes counted.

That would put him clearly past the 50 per cent margin required to secure outright victory, and deal a devastating blow to the hopes of those who had backed Mr Mousavi, a former prime minister.

But at a tense press conference at midnight on Friday, Mr Mousavi declared that he himself was "definitely the winner. He accused Iran's clerical establishment, which is thought to back Mr Ahmadinejad, of "manipulating the people's vote" to keep him in power.

Meanwhile, Iranian police and Mousavi supporters clashed in Tehran.
"It is our duty to defend people's votes," he said, hinting that he might urge followers to challenge the verdict. "There is no turning back."

The apparent landslide victory by Mr Ahmadinejad comes despite widespread discontent among even his own followers over his dismal economic record and aggressive foreign policy. Polls had previously put him roughly neck-and-neck with Mr Mousavi, with some even predicting he faced a heavy defeat. >>> By Colin Freeman in Tehran | Saturday, June 13, 2009

WELT ONLINE: Erdrutschsieg: Durchmarsch für Ahmadinedschad bei Wahl im Iran

Irans ultrakonservativer Staatschef Mahmud Ahmadinedschad steht bei der Präsidentenwahl im Iran vor einem Erdrutschsieg. Nach Auszählung von mehr als 80 Prozent der Stimmen entfielen auf den Hardliner knapp 65 Prozent – doppelt so viel wie für seinen aussichtsreichsten Herausforderer. Der spricht von "Unregelmäßigkeiten".

Durchmarsch bei der Präsidentschaftswahl: Irans Staatschef Mahmud Ahmadinedschad steht vor einer zweiten Amtszeit. Bild dank der Welt
Ahmadinedschad kam nach Auszählung der Stimmen aus 87 Prozent der Wahlurnen auf 64,88 Prozent der Stimmen, wie die Wahlkommission des Innenministeriums am Samstag mitteilte. Sein aussichtsreichster Herausforderer, der gemäßigt Konservative Mir Hossein Mussawi, erreichte demnach 32,6 Prozent.

Gegen 04.20 Uhr MESZ waren laut der Wahlkommission im Innenministerium fast 29 Millionen Stimmzettel aus dem ganzen Land ausgewertet. Den vorläufigen Angaben zufolge erzielte Ahmadinedschad fast 19 Millionen Stimmen und lag damit mit mehr als 9,5 Millionen Stimmen vor Mussawi.

Die beiden weiteren Herausforderer Ahmadinedschads, der frühere Chef der Revolutionsgarden Mohsen Resai und Ex-Parlamentspräsident Mehdi Karubi, landeten den jüngsten Teilergebnissen zufolge deutlich abgeschlagen auf dem dritten und vierten Platz. Insgesamt waren etwa 46 Millionen Iraner zum Urnengang aufgerufen gewesen. >>> AFP/AP/omi | Samstag, 13. Juni 2009

leJDD.fr: Iran: Ahmadinejad haut la main

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a sans nul doute remporté le scrutin présidentiel iranien. Alors que tous les bulletins ne sont pas encore dépouillés, la commission électorale a validé samedi la victoire de l'ultraconservateur, candidat sortant, contre son principal rival, le modéré Mir Hossein Moussavi. Crédité de seulement 32% des suffrages, contre 64,5% pour son adversaire, celui-ci crie à la fraude.

Un succès si large qu'il ne peut être suspect. Voilà en substance comment les partisans du modéré Mir Hossein Moussavi accueillent ce samedi le résultat de l'élection présidentielle iranienne. Selon les derniers chiffres disponibles et après dépouillement de plus de 30 millions de bulletins de vote - sur 38 millions de suffrages exprimés - le sulfureux Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a été aisément reconduit à la présidence du pays. D'après des résultats rendus publics samedi par la commission électorale iranienne, et alors que le scrutin s'annonçait serré, le président sortant, ultraconservateur, est crédité de 64,5% des voix contre 32% à peine pour son principal rival. Les deux autres candidats en lice, Mehdi Karoubi, (ancien président du parlement, réformateur) et Mohsen Rezaï (ancien chef des Gardiens de la révolution, conservateur), se partagent le reste des suffrages. >>> Par N.M (avec Reuters), leJDD.fr | Samedi 13 Juin 2009

Iran: confusion autour du vainqueur
LE FIGARO: Imbroglio vendredi soir autour des résultats à l'élection présidentielle. Le président sortant, l'ultraconservateur Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a remporté la présidentielle de vendredi en Iran, a annoncé l'agence officielle Irna, quelques minutes après que son principal rival, Mir Hossein Moussavi, eut revendiqué la victoire.



"Sur la base des informations réunies par Irna, le Dr Ahmadinejad a obtenu la majorité des voix et il devance de loin Mir Hossein Moussavi," a dit l'agence.
Quelques minutes auparavant, M. Moussavi, un conservateur modéré présenté comme le principal adversaire de M. Ahmadinejad, avait revendiqué une large victoire, dans un communiqué lu à la presse.



"Conformément aux informations que nous avons obtenues, je suis le vainqueur de cette élection avec une marge importante", avait déclaré M. Moussavi.
"Mir Hossein Moussavi a obtenu 65% des voix", avait clamé peu auparavant auprès de l'AFP un de ses proches collaborateurs, Ali Akbar Mohatshemi-Pour. [Source: LeFigaro.fr] AFP | Vendredi 12 Juin 2009