Iran lashes out at Western interference in election affairs

2009-06-21 22:24:05

·Iranian officials lashed out at Western countries over their interference in election affairs. ·BBC correspondent Jon Leyne has been ordered to leave Iran within 24 hours. ·Iran accused VOA and BBC of stirring up unrest in Iran amid an election dispute.

by Xinhua writer Liang Youchang

TEHRAN, June 21 (Xinhua) --

Iranian officials have lashed out at some Western countries, particularly Britain and the United States, over their "interference" in Iran's election affairs as the country has been hit by post-vote unrest.

In his speech to foreign diplomats in Tehran on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was "highly critical of some Western countries, specifically France, Germany, Britain and the U.S., for their inappropriate, illogical and interfering words."

Mottaki also pointed out "an inflooding of British intelligence officials ahead of the election" into Iran, the English-language satellite channel Press TV reported.

The Iranian Foreign Minister insisted that Iran's election process and the whole observing structure make the possibility of any irregularities or vote rigging "close to zero."

Mottaki also criticized some foreign media outlets and television channels for beating "the drums of war" in their reports of Iran's post-election disputes.

The correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in Iran, Jon Leyne, has been ordered to leave the country within 24 hours, Iran's Fars news agency reported Sunday.

Leyne was expelled under the charges of, among other things, making fabricated news reports and supporting rioters, Fars said.

His expulsion came one day after Iran accused Voice of America (VOA) and the BBC of stirring up unrest in the country amid a dispute over the recent presidential election.

The two news outlets sought to stir up ethnic discord across Iran in the hope of fomenting the country's disintegration, Press TV quoted Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi as saying on Saturday.

"The channels act as command posts engineering the ongoing post-election riots," Qashqavi said.

Since disputes broke out after Iran's June 12 presidential election, the Western governments have been demanding Iran to allow peaceful protests and ensure a fair result.

On June 13, Iran's Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli announced Ahmadinejad won 62.63 percent of the total ballots on June 12, while his main rival Mir-Hossein Mousavi got 33.75 percent.

After the official declaration, Mousavi protested "strongly" the "obvious" violations in Iran's presidential election. He also appealed to the Guardian Council for a cancellation of the election result.

Mousavi's supporters have participated in massive rallies in Tehran and other cities over the past days.

On Saturday, Iran's police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators at a main square of Tehran in the latest violent clash between protestors and security forces.

Press TV reported on Sunday that thirteen people were killed in clashes between Iranian police and "terrorist groups" on Saturday as unrest hit Tehran amid disputes over the recent presidential election.

Press TV said "rioters" set two gas stations on fire and attacked a military post.

However, Iran's state television said Sunday that 10 people were killed and more than 100 others were wounded during the unrest in Tehran on Saturday.

A mosque was also set on fire, but nobody was killed in the incident.

The official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has urged the United States and Britain to stop intervening in its domestic affairs as the country has been hit by post-election unrest.

Addressing a group of clerics on Saturday evening, Ahmadinejad "urged Western states, particularly the United States and Britain, to change their policies of intervening in Iran's domestic affairs," IRNA said.

"Condemning interference of certain foreign states in Iran's domestic affairs, the president reiterated that the Iranian nation would not consider such governments as its own friends," IRNA reported.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday accused some Western countries and media of trying to create political rift and social chaos in Iran by discrediting the "victorious" election.

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