Iranian clerical group calls for nullification of election

September 23rd, 2009 Green-clad group protests Ahmadinejad near UNNEW YORK — Hundreds of people have gathered near the United Nations to protest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE'-neh-zhahd) as he prepares to address the UN. The protesters claim that his June election victory was fraudulent and showed up Wednesday wearing green.

August 18th, 2009 Iranian activist hospitalized after hunger strikeTEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian journalist and opposition activist has been hospitalized after a nine-day hunger strike to protest his detention and trial, a reformist news Web site reported Tuesday. Ahmad Zeidabadi is among more than 100 prominent activists and opposition supporters on trial in Iran.

July 31st, 2009 Iran blames foreign countries for protester deathsTEHRAN, Iran — The Iranian foreign minister is blaming foreign countries for the deaths of opposition supporters in Iran's post-election turmoil. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets since the June 12 presidential election, claiming the vote was fraudulent.

July 5th, 2009 Pressure mounts on Iranian reformistsTEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian newspaper closely tied to the government says reformists disputing last month's presidential elections are "dangerous." The editorial in the conservative Kayhan newspaper, and earlier comments by a top aide to Iran's all powerful clerical leader, mark an escalation of pressure on defeated reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and his supporters. Kayhan questioned how the reformists should be dealt with, saying they "would be a dangerous opposition if they were to win, and set the streets on fire when they lose." A day earlier, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's top aide wrote in Kayhan that Mousavi is an American agent.

July 5th, 2009 NEW YORK - Defying Iran's supreme leader and emerging as one of the most public signs of a major split in the country's clerical establishment, the most important group of religious leaders in the country has called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate. A statement by the group, the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum, represents a significant, if so far symbolic, setback for the government and especially the authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, The New York Times reports.

June 23rd, 2009 Britain expels 2 Iranian diplomatsLONDON — Britain's government says it has expelled two Iranian diplomats in retaliation for Tehran's decision to order out two staff members from the British Embassy in Tehran. The Foreign Office said Tuesday that Tehran's decision was baseless and unjustifiable.

June 21st, 2009 Thousands in France rally to back Iran exile groupVILLEPINTE, France — Thousands of people gathered north of Paris on Saturday to support Iranian opposition protesters and an Iranian exile group pushing to be rid of a terrorist label. Crowds spilled out of buses and filled the fairground in Villepinte under drizzly skies.

June 18th, 2009 Former Democratic chief supports US stance on IranWASHINGTON — Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean gave the Obama administration high marks Thursday for its arms-length response to the disputed presidential election in Iran. "For the United States to overtly interfere with this would be a big mistake," Dean said in a nationally broadcast interview.

June 17th, 2009 US official denies charge of interference in IranWASHINGTON — The State Department is disputing an allegation by the Iranian government that the United States is meddling excessively in its internal affairs. State Department spokesman P.J.

June 16th, 2009 YEKATERINBURG - Russia Tuesday said that no country has any business with Iran's recent elections which were accused of voting fraud and sparked mass demonstration. "The issue of elections in Iran is an internal affair of the Iranian people," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters in this Urals city of Yekaterinburg where Russia is hosting a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which is attened by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

June 16th, 2009 Lugar: American arms-length stance on Iran properWASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain charged Tuesday that President Barack Obama is not talking tough enough on the disputed presidential election in Iran.

June 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has refused to acknowledge the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "There is an awful lot of questions about how this election was run," Vice President Biden said.

June 14th, 2009 TEHRAN - Iranian opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi called on Iran's Guardian Council Sunday to nullify the results of the presidential election. Moussavi said in a statement on his website that he had forwarded an official request to the Guardian Council asking it to nullify the results.

June 13th, 2009 Iran opposition candidate condemns election fraudTEHRAN, Iran — The main Iranian opposition candidate has issued a strong condemnation of what he describes as "violations" in the Iranian presidential election. Mir Hossein Mousavi said on his Web site Saturday that he won't "surrender to this manipulation" and warned that certain officials' conduct in the election is "shaking the pillars" of the country's political system.

June 12th, 2009 Gates has wait-and-see stance on Iranian electionBRUSSELS, Belgium — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Obama administration is closely watching the election in Iran but that policies are more significant than personalities in dealings with the Persian Gulf nation.