THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: TEHRAN -- Pro-government and opposition demonstrators poured into the streets of Iran's capital Tuesday for a fourth day of sometimes-violent rallies, as the country's religious leaders agreed to a partial recount of Friday's disputed presidential vote.
Amid the unrest, and more shooting by government-backed militia, authorities arrested prominent opposition leaders and clamped down on media covering the crisis. The demonstrations came hours after state media reported the top religious oversight council would examine Friday's vote, which saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad trounce opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and two other challengers.
The plan by the Guardian Council for a targeted recount -- aimed at specific voting sites where fraud was alleged -- is the first direct action by authorities to address claims of irregularities by rivals of Mr. Ahmadinejad. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on state matters, said Monday he asked the Guardian Council to look into those allegations.
Such a recount appears to be unprecedented, and it wasn't immediately clear when it would begin, or how many voting sites would be included.
Mr. Mousavi and the other two candidates announced the recount wouldn't be acceptable to them. Representatives of the three candidates had met with the spokesperson of the Guardian Council on Tuesday morning and asked that the results be annulled and new elections be held. Alternatively, they asked that an independent committee, made of up of clerics, lawmakers and experts, review the charges of vote rigging.
"After these elections the public no longer trusts the Interior Ministry or the Guardian Council, therefore they can't trust their vote recounts, either," said cleric Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, a spokesman for Mr. Mousavi's camp.
Mr. Khamenei called for national unity, and was quoted on state television saying, "In the elections, voters had different tendencies, but they equally believe in the ruling system and support the Islamic Republic." >>> By Farnaz Fassihi | Wednesday, June 17, 2009
