"Iran's Guardian Council rejects annulment of Iranian exiles across Germany protest against Tehran regime ...
Iranian expats “frustrated and angry” over situation back home, says Prague-based Iranian journalist ...
Iran and Nato end 30-year impasse ... the June 12 presidential election, saying that there have been no major polling irregularities," the English-language Press TV said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, leaders from Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan have closed ranks against accusations of meddling in Iran's domestic affairs after days of anti-government protests in Tehran.
Iran on Monday accused global broadcasters, the BBC and Voice of America, of seeking to break up the Islamic Republic with their coverage of post-election unrest.
Tehran's foreign ministry spokesman, Haasan Ghashghavi, said the US cable news network, CNN, and the BBC, had set up a "situation room and a psychological war room."
On Sunday, the authorities in Tehran expelled the BBC's chief correspondent in Iran, Jon Leyne.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he is dismayed by the violence against civilians.
He urged an immediate stop to the use of force against protesters and called on Iranian authorities to respect civil rights in dealing with the demonstrations.
The EU's foreign policy coordinator, Javier Solana, criticized moves by Iran to crack down on foreign media trying to cover the protests, saying it was "something we cannot accept."
The Czech EU presidency summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires in Prague and "categorically rejected Iran's claim that positions expressed by the EU and its members states constitute illegitimate interference in Iran's internal affairs."
Germany said it invited Iran's ambassador to clarify the charges of interference, which Berlin said it "found disconcerting."
Over the weekend, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had called for a recount of the June 12 election that returned hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power, triggering mass opposition protests and charges of vote rigging.
West aligns
Bildunterschrift: Groansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: UN chief Ban Ki-moon voices concern Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, adopting one of the toughest stances on Iran of any Western leader, condemned on Monday what he said was Tehran's totally unacceptable use of "brute force and intimidation" to deal with demonstrators.
"Canada calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately cease the use of violence against its own people, to release all political prisoners and journalists and to conduct a full and transparent investigation into allegations of fraud in the presidential election," Harper said in a statement.
Sweden, which takes over the EU presidency on July 1, urged Tehran to allow its citizens the right to peaceful protests. Sweden's foreign minister, Carl Bildt, said that right was even protected by the Iranian constitution.
Japan's foreign minister, Hirofumi Nakasone, called on Tehran to "respect opinions" and avoid "situations that produce casualties."
In Washington, the White House condemned the Iranian government for its "violent and unjust" actions against its people. President Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said it was clear that "justice has not been served." He added that the president had been moved by the passion expressed particularly by women to stand up for their rights.
Obama, however, has faced sharp criticism from opposition Republican lawmakers who say he has not spoken forcefully enough against the injustices in Iran.
gb/dpa/AFP/AP/Reuters
Editor: Nathan Witkop
(Deutsche Welle)
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