Mr Ahmadinejad insisted that Teheran's controversial nuclear drive was an issue of the past. -- PHOTO: AFP
TEHERAN - IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday defended his hotly disputed re-election as security forces cracked down on opposition protestors in Teheran, where fresh violence erupted.
Police said they have rounded up a total of 170 people over the massive post-election protests and street riots which erupted in the Iranian capital after Mr Ahmadinejad's defeated challengers complained of fraud and vote-rigging.
WORLD governments have so far reacted cautiously, while voicing concern about the vote-rigging allegations and the election violence.
Official results gave 52-year-old Ahmadinejad 63 per cent of the vote, crushing his closest rival Mousavi who gained just 34 per cent.
TEHERAN - POLICE fired tear gas on a crowd of about 200 stone-throwing people as renewed protests erupted in Teheran over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed election win, an AFP reporter said.
Shouting 'Death to the dictator!' angry supporters of defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi lobbed stones at policemen who fired back with tear gas to break up the demonstration.
Analysts have warned that the dramatic events could pose a risk to the future of the Shi'ite-dominated country, which has been under the control of powerful clerics since the Islamic revoluion three decades ago.
But Mr Ahmadinejad dismissed criticism of the election, saying at a press conference the massive turnout was a blow to the 'oppressive system ruling the world', a reference to Iran's arch-foe the United States.
He said his margin of victory over his main rival, moderate ex-premier Mir Hossein Mousavi, was so wide it could not be questioned and said the election was like a 'football match' and the loser should just 'let it go'. But clashes flared again on Sunday, a day after thousands of angry opposition supporters took to the streets over the election result, triggering rioting on a scale not seen in Iran for a decade.
In one street, police fired into the air to break up a demonstration, while on another, about 200 Mousavi supporters shouting 'Death to the dictator!' lobbed stones at police who fired back with tear gas.
Among those arrested by police were around 15 reformist leaders and supporters of Mr Ahmadinejad's defeated rivals who complained of fraud in the most hotly-contested presidential election in the Islamic republic.
Teheran's deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan said a total of 170 people had been arrested, including 'masterminds' of the rioting, and warned that the security forces would deal 'firmly' with the protests.
The election results dashed Western hopes of change after four years under the combative Mr Ahmadinejad, who set Iran on a collision course with the international community over its nuclear drive and his anti-Israeli tirades.
One leading conservative in Teheran insisted that US President Barack Obama's 'motto of change' and 'velvet revolutions' had no place in Iran. -- AFP
