TEHRAN (AlArabiya.net)
In his first press conference since winning Friday's vote Iran's incumbent hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that the election was free and fair and said it was “illegitimate” to question the decision of 40 million voters.
The president made his comments at a news conference, his second in as many days, where he also refused to halt Iaranian nuclear work and warned against an attack on his country.
" Who dares to attack Iran? Who even dares to think about it? " President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Ahmadinejad called the result of the presidential election a blow to the "oppressive system" ruling the world and also insisted that Tehran's controversial nuclear drive was an issue of the past indicating there would be no change in nuclear policy during his second term in office.
Iran's refusal to halt nuclear work the West suspects is aimed at making bombs, a charge Tehran denies, has sparked persistent speculation that Israel or the United States might strike at the country's nuclear facilities. |
Ahmadinejad defended his victory at a mass rally in the Iranian capital Ahmadinejad said on Sunday any country that dared to attack Iran would "deeply regret" such a move.
"Who dares to attack Iran? Who even dares to think about it?" Ahmadinejad asked in response to a question.
Meanwhile, Iranian police again clashed on Sunday with demonstrators protesting in Tehran against his re-election. |
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Unexpected majorities Iranian presidential candidate Mohsen Rezai in an interview with Al Arabiya TV The landslide re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was due in part to his success in defeating other presidential candidates even in their birthplaces, according to news reports Saturday.
The incumbent swept several cities comprised of other ethnicities and home to other candidates, though with 63 percent of the vote Ahmadinejad’s victory in the highly contested elections came amid allegations of voter fraud by opposition reformists.
In the village of Lail and birthplace of his conservative rival Mohsen Rezai, Ahmadinejad won 830 of the village’s 900 votes, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported Saturday. |
Iranian reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi during an press briefing in Tehran on June 12 The remaining 70 votes, home to a Bakhtiari majority known for its strong tribal ties, were distributed among Ahmadinejad's three rivals.
Leading reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who hails from the northwestern Azeri city of Khameneh, won a mere 2,000 votes compared to Ahmedinejad’s 5,000, according to IRNA statistics.
Tribal and ethnic factors usually plays a crucial role in Iran's elections, especially in non-Persian regions, so it was unexpected to find that Ahmadinejad won a majority of votes in ethnically-different areas. |
Iranian reformist presidential candidate and former parliament speaker, Mehdi Karroubi According to Interior Ministry statistics, Ahmadinejad also swept votes in the western city of Aligoodaz, birthplace of reformist candidate and former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi.
Karoubi, from the Luri minority that dominates the city, made unprecedented moves to meet with activists from ethnic minorities but won only 14,512 to Ahmedinejad’s 39,690 votes. Mousavi garnered 9,330.
As for Ahmedinejad's birthplace of Aradan in the northern province of Semnan, 9,000 votes went to the triumphant president and only 1,000 to the other three candidates. |
