The article incorrectly said that the Guardian Council is selected by the supreme leader and the head of the judiciary. Six of the council's 12 members are appointed by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The remaining six are nominated by the judiciary and must be approved by Parliament.
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Iranian Candidate Exhorts Protesters
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Around 9 p.m. Sunday, people in many neighborhoods went to rooftops and balconies and chanted "God is great" in support of Mousavi. The rallying cry is the same one protesters used in the weeks leading up to the 1979 revolution that ousted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
The Fars News Agency, which is close to the government, reported the arrest of dozens of political dissidents in Tehran, most of them supporters of Mousavi. Witnesses reported that students had broken out of a university that was surrounded by security forces, a student named Keyvan, who would not give his family name, said in a phone interview. In Rasht there were reports of casualties, Amir, an engineer, said in a phone interview.
During a news conference earlier Sunday, Ahmadinejad lauded the "epic" election. "This election was so free that you could say it was complete freedom," he said. But he added that the time had come to move on. "The election is gone and done. It is time for friendship, coalition and building the country."
When asked about protests and complaints, Ahmadinejad said that it was important to ask the opinions of "true Iranians" on the election. "Like the people you meet at my rallies," he said. He described the protesters as soccer hooligans who were disappointed that their team lost the match. "This is not important," he said. "We have full freedom in Iran."
His supporters showed up by the tens of thousands at a central Tehran square. Boys wearing tight T-shirts and women in traditional head-to-toe black chadors held up Iranian flags. "We are here to support our president," said Massoumeh Nazemi, who was sitting in the grass with her husband, Ali, and their daughter, Nargess, as Ahmadinejad spoke in the distance. "The police and security forces must deal very harshly with the demonstrators," Nazemi said. "They can't accept the victory of the Iranian people. They are hypocrites," she said, using a term commonly directed at those perceived to be enemies of the Islamic revolution.
"To those who say I create problems, I want to say that I am only a small drop in the ocean of the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad declared, his voice amplified by loudspeakers. "You are against the nation," he said to his opponents. "There is no other choice than to surrender."
Crowds of mostly lower-class families cheered as Ahmadinejad again spoke of a corrupt Iranian ruling class that he said he was determined to bring to justice. "You think you are of the elite? That you are above the people?" he said, referring to a group of 200 people who he said were forcing themselves upon Iran. He again mentioned the children of prominent clerics, saying they were corrupt. "The society must be purified of these people," he said.
Ahmadinejad asked his supporters to be patient, explaining that such a purge would not happen overnight. "They will try to stop me," he said, "but I will expose them to the great nation of Iran."
Special correspondent Kay Armin Serjoie contributed to this report.
