Interesting reporting again from Robert A. Worth at the New York Times.
The main Iranian opposition on Monday postponed a major rally to challenge the disputed presidential election, as the country’s supreme leader called for calm after days of street protests. In an unusual broadcast repeated every 15 minutes on state radio, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, was quoted as telling the main opposition candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, to pursue his objections to the election result calmly and legally. The broadcast said that at a meeting on Sunday night, Mr. Khamenei told Mr. Moussavi, “Naturally, in this election, complaints should be followed through legal channels” adding that Mr. Khamenei told Mr. Moussavi to “follow the issue calmly.” The radio also said Mr. Khamenei had instructed the powerful Guardian Council to examine opposition complaints of widespread electoral irregularities. Earlier, Mr. Khamenei said the vote, which gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an overwhelming victory, had been fair. It was not clear whether Mr. Moussavi had been influenced by the call for calm or by fears of renewed official violence against his supporters if the protest went ahead.
