Ahmadinejad urges U.S., Britain to stop intervening amid post-vote unrest

Ahmadinejad urges US, Britain to stop intervening amid post-vote unrest

2009-06-21 20:18:22

·Ahmadinejad has urged the United States and Britain to stop intervening in its domestic affairs. ·Ahmadinejad said that the Iranian nation would not consider such gov'ts as its own friends. ·Iran's Supreme Leader accused some Western countries and media of trying to create social chaos.

TEHRAN, June 21 (Xinhua) --

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, the official IRNA news agency reported Sunday.

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.

Ahmadinejad insisted that last week's presidential elections proved that the Iranian nation still loved its Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic system.

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.

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.

Iran accuses VOA, BBC of stirring up post-election unrest

2009-06-21 15:25:22

TEHRAN, June 21 (Xinhua) --

Iran has accused Voice of America (VOA) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of stirring up unrest in the country amid a dispute over the recent presidential election, the satellite channel Press TV reported Sunday.

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," he said.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman also said that the two media served as the mouthpieces of the United States and Britain.

"VOA and BBC are state-funded channels and not privately-run. Their budgets are ratified in the U.S. Congress, as well as the British Parliament," Qashqavi said.

He warned that any sort of contact with the two channels either through e-mail or telephone "runs against Iranian national sovereignty and is considered as an act of enmity towards the Iranian nation."

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

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.

Editor: Fang Yang

BBC correspondent in Iran expelled: Fars

2009-06-21 20:47:02

TEHRAN, June 21 (Xinhua) --

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.

Iran's satellite channel Press TV reported earlier Sunday that Iran has accused Voice of America (VOA) and the BBC of stirring up unrest in the country amid a dispute over the recent presidential election.

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

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.

Editor: Fang Yang

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