Notícias previstas do Irã, com a tirania teocrática operando da forma habitual entre teocracias. É mais avisado ler o NYT. A nossa imprensa fala em "suposta fraude", servindo muito bem como auxiliar do Itamaraty, e do presidente brasileiro que não considera sequer a hipótese de fraude em favor de seu companheiro iraniano, chavista, etc. Senhores da imprensa: que vergonha!Os senhores ainda não sabem que existe uma rede internacional de notícias, que existem jornais sérios que não se colocam a serviço dos palácios?
Supreme Leader Calls Iran Election Fair
TEHRAN — In his first public response to days of protests, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sternly warned opponents Friday to stay off the streets and denied opposition claims that last week’s disputed election was rigged, praising the ballot as an “epic moment that became a historic moment.”
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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, listened as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered his address. More Photos >
In a somber and lengthy sermon at Friday prayers in Tehran, he called directly for an end to the protests by hundreds of thousands of Iranians demanding for a new election.
“Street challenge is not acceptable,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “This is challenging democracy after the elections.” He said opposition leaders would be “held responsible for chaos” if they did not end the protests.
His remarks seemed to deepen the confrontation between Iran’s rulers and supporters of the main opposition candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, who have accused the authorities of rigging the vote.
Ayatollah Khamenei urged dissenters to pursue their complaints about the June 12 only through legal channels, insisting that the turnout — officially put at 85 percent — showed the ballot to be a reflection of the national will.
Speaking in front of an audience of thousands that included President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he endorsed the president’s policies and insisted that the margin of victory — 11 million votes — accorded to Mr. Ahmadinejad in the official tally was so big that it could not have been falsified. “How can 11 million votes be replaced or changed?” he said.
He went on: “The Islamic republic state would not cheat and would not betray the vote of the people.”
There was no immediate response to his 100-minute long sermon from opposition leaders.
Iranians had been looking to his appearance the national prayer service from Tehran University on Friday for clues as to whether the authorities were prepared to bend to opposition demands. But Ayatollah Khamenei showed no readiness to countenance their demands for the election to be annulled.
He blamed “media belonging to Zionists, evil media” for seeking to show divisions between those who supported the Iranian state and those who did not, while, in fact, the election had shown Iranians to be united in their commitment to the Islamic revolutionary state.
“There are 40 million votes for the revolution, not just 24 million for the chosen president,” he said, referring to the official tally that gave Mr. Ahmadinejad more than 60 percent of the vote.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the election “ was a competition among people who believe in the state.”
He also spoke of the religious roots of “our revolutionary society.”
“Despite all the diversions , our people are faithful,” he said, but urged young Iranians to lead more spiritual lives. “The youth are confused. Being away from spirituality has caused confusion. They don’t know what to do,” he said.
He said the June 12 elections had been a “great demonstration of responsibility by our nation” and its 85 percent turnout had shown “the hand of the Lord of ages supporting such a great development. This is a sign of God’s mercy for this nation.”
He accused what he called arrogant Western powers, particularly Britain and the United States, of showing their hostility to the Iranian Islamic revolution in remarks casting doubt on the election. And he warned them not meddle in Iran’s affairs, accusing them of failing to understand the nature of Iranian society.
Tens of thousands of people streamed into the university to hear the ayatollah speak a day after protesters flooded into the streets for the sixth straight day Thursday. The ayatollah’s remarks seemed to show that the authorities were growing impatient with the street protests.
“It would be wrong to think that turning out on the street would force officials to accept their demands,” he said.
Throughout a week of protests, Iran’s leaders have offered conciliation, while simultaneously wielding repression.
With one hand, the government offered to talk to the opposition, inviting the three losing presidential candidates to meet with the powerful Guardian Council. Ayatollah Khamenei repeated on Friday that those complaining of electoral irregularities should do so through the council.
Even Mr. Ahmadinejad, who has kept a defiant if low profile, made an unusual public concession. After insulting the huge crowds that poured into the street by dismissing them as “dust,” the president issued a statement on state television, according to The Associated Press:
“I only addressed those who made riot, set fires and attacked people. Every single Iranian is valuable. The government is at everyone’s service. We like everyone.”
With the other hand, the government continued to arrest prominent reformers, limit Internet access and pressure reporters to stay off the streets, and security officials signaled their waning tolerance.
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It was not clear whether Iran’s government, made up of fractious power centers, was pursuing a calculated strategy or if the moves reflected internal disagreements, or even uncertainty.
“Most analysts believe the outreach is just to kill time and extend this while they search for a solution, although there doesn’t seem to be any,” said a political analyst in Tehran, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “This will only be a postponement of the inevitable, which is indeed a brutal crackdown.”
There was some speculation among Iran experts in the United States of a possible compromise, with reformers being given positions in a new government. But it was unclear if that would be acceptable to the opposition, which understands that in Iran, positions do not necessarily come with power. For eight years, the reform president, Mohammad Khatami, saw his program stifled by the conservative interests of the religious leadership and its allies.
“There could have been a very easy political solution, and that would have been nullifying the election results, but they have refused to do that so far,” said Mashalah Shamsolvaezin, a political analyst in Tehran. “Postponing the resolution means they want the military to find the solutions,” he said, referring to the Revolutionary Guards, not the army.
On Thursday the opposition remained firm in its demand for a new election, and it was not immediately clear how it would respond to the council’s offer of talks, which could take place as early as Saturday. The meeting would include Mr. Moussavi and two other candidates, Mehdi Karroubi and Mohsen Rezai.
Mr. Moussavi has indicated in the past that he does not trust the Guardian Council because some of its members campaigned on behalf of Mr. Ahmadinejad before the election. State radio said the Guardian Council had begun a “careful examination” of 646 complaints about the vote.
Nor was it clear what role was being played by a former Iranian president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who supported Mr. Moussavi and is in a power struggle with Ayatollah Khamenei. There were unconfirmed reports Thursday that two of his children had been banned from leaving the country because of their role in helping the protesters.
Ayatollah Khamenei devoted a section of his sermon on Friday to rebutting what he said were accusations of corruption leveled against Mr. Rafsanjani. But, he said, he believed President Ahmadinejad’s views were “closer to what it should be.”
In a statement on his Web site on Thursday, Mr. Moussavi had called on his followers to mourn those protesters killed in clashes with paramilitary forces over the past several days, and protesters responded by wearing black and carrying black candles. Many held up their fingers in a V-sign for victory.
Meanwhile, some protesters expressed growing fears that the government’s tolerance of the persistent protests would soon wear out.
The Iranian authorities reported that at least seven people were killed in Tehran in the first days of unrest after the election. Student activists say seven more people have died since then in attacks by government militia on student dormitories in Tehran and in the southern city of Shiraz.