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Iran Guardian Council approves presidential results

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-30 10:54

TEHRAN: Iran's Guardian Council, which is charged with supervising elections in the country, has approved the results of the June 12 presidential election, Iran's satellite channel Press TV reported Monday.

The announcement came after the Guardian Council ran a recount of 10 percent of the votes on Monday, which showed no irregularities, the English-language satellite channel said.

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"The Guardian Council approval of the vote negates the possibility of an election re-run," Press TV said.

Iran's state television reported that Guardian Council Secretary Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati announced the body's decision in a letter to Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli.

The Guardian Council confirmed the results "after conducting thorough and comprehensive investigation," Jannati was quoted as saying in the letter.

Most of the complaints against the vote results were not considered as fraud and were only minor irregularities, Jannati said, adding that the allegations of voting irregularities were rejected.

The Guardian Council's announcement confirmed that incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been reelected for a second term.

Guardian Council spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai told state television later Monday that the case for reviewing the election results "is closed now" for the council.

On June 13, the Iranian interior minister said Ahmadinejad won 62.63 percent of the total ballots, while his main rival Mir- Hossein Mousavi got 33.75 percent.

The other two candidates -- former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi and former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezaei -- got less than 2 percent of the total ballots.

After the official declaration, all the three defeated candidates filed complaints over irregularities in the election, while Mousavi and Karroubi have demanded an annulment of the election.

Rezaei later withdrew his complaints filed to the Guardian Council about the disputed presidential election.

The Guardian Council has said it was ready to recount up to 10 percent of the ballot boxes randomly in the disputed presidential election.

However, Mousavi rejected the partial vote recount as a ruse and continued to demand a nullification of the election.

Mousavi's supporters have participated in massive rallies in Tehran and other cities following the disputes. Iran's state media said 20 people had been killed in related clashes.

Meanwhile, Iran has repeatedly accused foreign powers -- especially Britain and the United States -- and some Western media of stoking the unrest that swept the country after June 12 election.

Iran has expelled a BBC's correspondent in Tehran and arrested a British-Greek journalist, as well as a number of other British passport-holders it says were involved in rioting.

Iranian media reported Sunday that eight local staff at the British embassy had been detained for their "considerable role" in post-election riots.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Monday morning that nine local staff at the British embassy had been detained, but five of them has been released.

Qashqavi said that British Foreign Secretary David Miliband called Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki by phone on Sunday evening and assured him that Britain does not intend to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.