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TEHRAN (AP) – Anti-riot police guarded the offices overseeing Iran’s disputed elections. A statement from Mousavi posted on his Web site urged his supporters to resist a “governance of lie and dictatorship.”
An expected announcement on the full outcome was temporarily put on hold. A reason for the delay was not made public, but it suggested intervention by Iran’s Islamic authorities seeking to put the brakes on a potentially volatile showdown.
Ahmadinejad had the apparent backing of the ruling theocracy, which holds near-total power and would have the ability to put the election results into a temporary limbo.
There were no immediate reports of serious clashes or mass protests, and the next step by Mousavi’s backers were unclear. Mousavi, who became the hero of a powerful youth-driven movement, had not made a public address or issued messages since declaring himself the true victor moments after polls closed and accusing authorities of “manipulating” the vote.
“I’m warning that I won’t surrender to this manipulation,” said the Mousavi statement on the Web on Saturday. “The outcome of what we’ve seen from the performance of officials … is nothing but shaking the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran sacred system and governance of lie and dictatorship.”
He warned “people won’t respect those who take power through fraud” and called the decision to announce Ahmadinejad winner of the elction was a “treason to the votes of the people.”
The headline on one of Mousavi’s Web sites: “I wont give in to this dangerous manipulation.” Mousavi and key aides could not be reached by phone.
It was even unclear how many Iranians were even aware of Mousavi’s claims of fraud. Communications disruptions began in the later hours of voting Friday — suggesting an information clampdown. State television and radio only broadcast the Interior Ministry’s vote count and not Mousavi’s midnight press conference.
Iranian elections always bring a loosening of the rules on public speech and behavior, but many say this year’s election is different, in part because of the social crackdown of the past four years under Mr. Ahmadinejad.
“What’s happening now is more than what should happen before an election,” said Mashalah Shamsolvaezin, a political commentator and former director of several reformist newspapers. “This is an expression of protest and dissatisfaction by people. They are venting their frustration and feeling very powerful.”
There have been scattered street clashes in recent days, but the police have generally not intervened, in part — analysts say — because they do not want to unleash protests by the unruly and mostly young crowds.
The rallies appear to have surprised and unsettled the authorities, and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a message broadcast on state television, warned against any further escalation.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
