TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s religious and political leadership warned domestic opponents and Western powers Tuesday that no further protests against a disputed election would be tolerated following official certification of a landslide victory for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Although the opposition, led by presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, continued to demand that the June 12 election results be annulled on grounds of massive fraud, an intensifying government crackdown appeared to close off avenues for protesters to pursue what they describe as a reformist campaign aimed at creating a more open society.
The warnings by Ahmadinejad and leaders of Iran’s Shiite Muslim theocracy came a day after the Guardian Council, a top supervisory body, dismissed all opposition complaints of fraud and affirmed Ahmadinejad’s re-election, which had already been proclaimed by the Interior Ministry and endorsed by Iran’s supreme leader.
The announcement set off nighttime shouts of protest from Tehran’s rooftops, but heavy deployments of security forces headed off any new street demonstrations.
Ayatollah Morteza Moghtadai called for a continued clampdown on opposition demonstrations, saying that “the view of the leadership is the last word, and everybody in the country must obey it,” Fars reported.
The Association of Combatant Clerics, a leading reformist group, reiterated a demand that the election be annulled.
However, the group’s statement signaled waning fervor for opposition demonstrations. “We reserve the right to protest against the result of the election but believe that people should not pay any higher price and that escalating tensions and street protests are not the solution,” it said.
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