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EU says Tehran faces 'legitimacy' crisis
As Iran's opposition locks horns with the ruling elite over the disputed presidential election, the European Union presidency claims Tehran is faced with "legitimacy" problems. "They, the leaders of Iran, must be concerned with the legitimacy of their regime in the eyes of their own electorate," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said on Tuesday. "As to which conclusions that leads to, that remains to be seen," he told members of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee in Brussels, AFP reported. He, however, urged the EU to maintain "links and contacts" with Iran as the country resolves its internal crisis. The June 12 election, which saw incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected with almost two-third of the votes, has been confirmed by the electoral watchdog, the Guardian Council, despite accusations of fraud by the opposition led by defeated candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi. The official announcement of the vote result unleashed unrest in Iran, which the Tehran government blames on foreign "interference." On Monday, the Association of Combatant Clerics, led by former President Mohammad Khatami, called for a referendum to settle the vote dispute. The proposal was denounced in Principlist circles as a Western plot to create "havoc." Under the Iranian Constitution, only the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has the authority to call for a referendum. Posted by: Fred 2009-07-22 |
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