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Iran leader says opposition protests anti-Islam
 [Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned opposition leaders on Sunday to distance themselves from protesters whom he accused of acting "against Islam" as he labeled the June presidential election legal and said the case was closed."Those who shout slogans in the name of these people (opposition leaders), hoist their pictures and speak of them with respect are in a point which is the exact opposite of Imam (founder of the revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini), revolution and Islam," Khamenei said on state television. Iran's official media accuses pro-opposition students of tearing up a picture of Khomeini, during a state organized rally on last Monday that turned violent when the opposition hijacked the rally to protest against the government. Referring to the disputed June election, which the opposition says was rigged in favor of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Khamenei said: "The election is over. It was legal and they could not demonstrate their claim (of vote fraud)." "Some people created riots and encouraged people to stand against the system... paving the way for our hopeless enemies to undermine the Islamic revolution." The elite Revolutionary Guards urged the judiciary on Sunday to confront in a "revolutionary way" those behind an "insult" to Ayatollah Khomeini. Khamenei said the opposition rallies where illegal. "They are openly violating the law, they insulted imam Khomeini," he said. The leader urged authorities to identify "those behind the insult to imam Khomeini." Meanwhile the exiled leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, arrived in Iran on Sunday on a visit where he was due to meet top officials including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A Hamas statement from Meshaal's Damascus headquarters said the visit was part of a regional tour, but gave no further details. Posted by: Fred 2009-12-14 |
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