IRAN'S embattled but defiant regime is ramping up its rhetoric against the West and increasing repression at home – but is failing to silence leading opposition voices who are furious with president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "stolen" election.
Despite strident calls by hardliners for his prosecution, Mir Hossein Mousavi, the man who millions of Iranians believe was the rightful winner of the 12 June presidential elections, yesterday branded the new government "illegitimate".
He said: "
It is our historical responsibility to continue our protests and not to abandon our efforts to preserve the nation's rights."
Iran's charismatic reformist former president Mohammad Khatami joined in by accusing the regime of a "velvet coup against the people and democracy". His turn of phrase was designed to goad the regime, which has blamed western powers, in particular Britain, of fomenting the post-election turmoil, claiming they are plotting a "velvet-style" revolution against the Islamic system.
The country's top military commander has demanded an apology from the European Union for its "huge mistake" of interfering in Iran's domestic politics as a condition for re-engaging in long-stalled talks on Tehran's nuclear programme.
And the feared government Basij militia – which fronted the iron-fisted crackdown that has crushed street demonstrations – called for Mr Mousavi's prosecution on nine offences, including threatening national security – which carries a maximum penalty of ten years in jail.
But the jittery regime, whose intelligence services are watching Mr Mousavi's every move, held back from arresting him. Mr Mousavi has told his followers to go on general strike if he is detained. That – and the threat of renewed mass street protests – has stayed the authorities' hand, at least for the time being.
The newspaper of another reformist candidate, Mehdi Karrubi, was closed. He, too, insisted yesterday that Mr Ahmahinejad's victory was illegitimate.
Meanwhile, a semi-official Iranian news agency alleged that a local employee of the British embassy in Tehran had "a remarkable role" in fomenting post-election street unrest. According to Iranian media, the unidentified man was the last of nine local employees arrested in recent days still held.
But opposition leaders, all insiders of Iran's Islamic system, made it clear the crisis was of the regime's own making – and not, as claimed by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Mr Ahmadinejad, a plot by Britain or the United States to destabilise the Iranian Islamic Republic.
Iran's main reformist party declared publicly what many Iranians privately maintain: that Mr Ahmadinejad's triumph was a carefully crafted coup by a fundamentalist part of the regime.
"The election was the result of a year-long coup d'état… that harmed the establishment's legitimacy inside and outside Iran," said the Islamic Iran Participation Front on its website. "We openly announce that the result is unacceptable".
The proclamation – established by reformers close to Mr Khatami – flouted a recent dictat by the ayatollah to accept the re-election of Mr Ahmadinejad or face the consequences.
Mr Mousavi called on the authorities to release detained "children of the revolution". The phrase, which will resonate deeply in Iran, was a reference to scores of leading reformists who have been arrested since the election. Human rights groups say at least 2,000 people have been arrested, including opposition figures, students, protesters, journalists and bloggers, while hundreds more are missing.
Despite his bravado since the election, Mr Ahmadinejad cancelled a trip to an African Union summit in Tripoli, claiming a heavy work schedule. His absence was interpreted as a sign that he acknowledges Iran is seething with anger and frustration, despite the enforced calm on the streets.
Within four days of the election Mr Ahmadinejad was confident enough to visit Moscow after he dismissedas unimportant the biggest streets demonstrations in the republic's 30-year history. He compared the protesters to disappointed football fans. His attitude enraged protesters, who felt betrayed by a regime that rubbed salt into their wounds by hailing the 85 per cent voter turnout as an endorsement of its legitimacy.
The full article contains 667 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
