Iran says elections were fair; World leaders criticize recent crackdown on dissidents

Iran´s powerful Guardian Council declared that the country´s disputed presidential election results will stand, saying it could find no evidence of any major irregularities.

Iranian authorities say President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the elections with more than 60 percent of the vote, but supporters of opposition candidates continue to claim the elections were rigged. Protests turned violent over the last week with at least 13 deaths, but accurate counts are difficult to come by due to restrictions on the press. Iran´s supreme leader the Ayatollah Khameini ordered a halt to protests last week, urging opposition leaders to handle their complaints through Iran´s legal system.

The government´s handling of the protests has outraged many world leaders including those in neighboring Israel.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the “courage” of Iranian protesters today and called the Tehran authorities the “greatest threat to peace”. In Europe, French President Nicholas Sarkozy called the elections a “tragedy” adding that "the extent of the fraud is proportional to the violent reaction."

On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke before the parliament, saying that the Iranian government must show its people that “recent elections results have been credible,” while urging Iran to stop “curtailing democratic rights.” Iranian authorities accuse Britain and other western powers of interfering in Iran´s internal affairs and attempting to divide the country. And on Tuesday Iran expelled two British diplomats after accusing them of espionage.

The US reaction to events in Iran has been more measured. At a press conference today, President Obama said the US will not be a “foil” for the Iranian government, adding that some people would love blame what´s happening on the streets of Tehran on the CIA or on the White House. While Obama urged Iran to respect human rights and used his strongest language to date, he did not talk about any specific US response.

Conservative lawmakers in the US have criticized the Obama Administration´s softer tone in response to the events in Iran, but some analysts say the measured US response is because the administration is worried about the outcome of negotiations over Iran´s nuclear program, as the US is trying to convince the Islamic republic to stop its experiments with nuclear technology.

Meanwhile in Iran, authorities announced plans to set up a special court to try protesters, warning that those who encourage more demonstrations will be subject to arrest.