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Last update - 11:00 17/06/2009
Tens of thousands amass at Mousavi rally in Tehran
By Haaretz Service, Nicole Breskin, and News Agencies
Tags: Israel News 

Tens of thousands of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi's supporters gathered in downtown Tehran on Wednesday for a fifth day of protests against last week's election, witnesses said.



Mainly dressed in black and also wearing wristbands and headbands in Mousavi's green campaign colours, they assembled in Haft-e Tir square and streets around it, the witnesses said. Most of the protesters were silent and making victory signs.

Mousavi had called on his Web site for a mass rally to protest the country's disputed election results and violence against his followers.

The call presents a direct challenge to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said Tuesday evening that Mousavi should pursue his demands through the country's electoral system.

But Mousavi appears to have no intention of backing down. His announcement came shortly after the country's most powerful military force said that Iranian Web sites and bloggers must remove any materials that create tension or face legal action.

The dispute presents one of the gravest threats to Iran's cleric-led system since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Earlier Wednesday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that there's not much to be expected from Mousavi.

Against the backdrop of mass demonstrations on the streets of Iran, Barak told Army Radio, "Don't get him wrong - he wouldn't have been allowed to run for the Knesset or the Governor of Maryland."

He called on the international community to swiftly act to prevent the Tehran regime from advancing its nuclear program.

"Iran is in the midst of a very dangerous process," the defense minister said. "Steps must be planned in advance within a time frame that is not long. We don't have too much time."

"We've resolved not to take any option off the table and we expect others to do the same," Barak told Army Radio.

The former prime minister said he was "riveted" by the opposition protests on the streets of Tehran against the recent election results. Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was officially proclaimed the winner by a whopping 2-to-1 margin, though his main challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, claims the results were forged.

"One mustn't forget that we are dealing with a dictatorial regime run by ayatollahs," Barak said. "The more force applied against anti-regime demonstrators, the less legitimacy there is for the existence of the regime."

On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama made first reference to the disputed results of last week's Iranian elections, saying there appeared to be few policy differences between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi.

"The difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised," he told CNBC.

Also on Tuesday, Mossad chief Meir Dagan told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the riots in Iran over the election results will die out in a few days rather than escalate into a revolution.

"The reality in Iran is not going to change because of the elections. The world and we already know Ahmadinejad. If the reformist candidate Mousavi had won, Israel would have had a more serious problem because it would need to explain to the world the danger of the Iranian threat, since Mousavi is perceived internationally arena as a moderate element ... It is important to remember that he is the one who began Iran's nuclear program when he was prime minister."

Iranian prosecutor warns protest leaders may face death

An Iranian provincial prosecutor has warned that the "few elements" behind post-election unrest could face the death penalty under Islamic law, an Iranian news agency reported on Wednesday.

Mohammadreza Habibi, prosecutor-general in the central province of Isfahan, said these elements were controlled from outside Iran and urged them to stop "criminal activities", Fars News Agency said.

"We warn the few elements controlled by foreigners who try to disrupt domestic security by inciting individuals to destroy and to commit arson that the Islamic penal code for such individuals waging war against God is execution," Habibi said.

"So before they are stricken with the law's anger they should return to the nation's embrace and avoid criminal measures and activities," he said.

It was not clear if his warning applied to just Isfahan or the country as a whole.

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      11.   #.2. Chris Linthwaite. Good post. 16:09  |  Stephen. 17/06/09
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