Iran declares Ahmadinejad victory

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By Iason Athanasiadis

TEHRAN | Iranian authorities announced Saturday that incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won re-election by a commanding majority of nearly two-thirds of votes cast, but young Iranians protested in the streets of the capital and the president's chief rival charged fraud.

An official tally presented on television by Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli, an Ahmadinejad appointee, said the president got 24 million votes to about 13 million for Mr-Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister who advocated economic and social reforms and better relations with the West.

The interior minister also reported a record turnout of 85 percent — an outpouring of participation that many analysts thought would result in a win for Mr. Mousavi or at least deprive Mr. Ahmadinejad of a first-round victory.

Scores of Mousavi supporters, unwilling to accept the official results, gathered in small groups on the streets and in Tehran's central squares to protest.

They chanted slogans such as "Mousavi we will protect you" and "Death to the Dictator" in a reference to Mr. Ahmadinejad.

"We're still all in shock. We don't know what to say. Maybe if they would reveal the regional counts people would be able to accept it," said Bita Ramezani, 25, a graphic designer.

"This reveals the true nature of the Islamic Republic," said Reza Jamshidi, 23, a mechanical engineer at the University of Tehran.

Earlier in the day, police units used cement blocks to bar the roads around the Ministry of Interior, where vote counting was taking place.

Motorcycle-mounted policemen circulated among the crowds in central Tehran. A photographer outside the reformist newspaper Etelaat where Mr. Mousavi had been scheduled to give a press conference, reported that police attacked journalists gathered outside. The press conference was cancelled and rumors spread that Mr. Mousavi was either under house arrest or in closed talks with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on Iran's domestic and foreign policies.