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Iran raps Western interference in its affairs

Iran Materials 22 June 2009 14:04 (UTC +04:00)

While the dust from post-election unrest is settling in Iran, the Islamic Republic condemns foreign interference by certain Western states in the country's internal affairs, Press TV reported.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hassan Qashqavi, said Monday that some European countries and the US have played a major role in provoking the post-election violence that killed scores of people in the past few days.

He made the remarks as the latest pictures show the traffic is normal on Tehran streets, which witnessed calm on Monday and the day before. On Saturday, 'terrorist elements'-who had infiltrated the rallies --created the most violent day of protests by setting fire on a mosque and two gas stations as well as killing a number of people.

"With the main goal of sowing ethnic discord, Western powers have interfered in the election process by hyperbolizing the protests staged against the Iranian poll results," said Qashqavi in an address to his weekly press conference.

"France has even gone as far as calling for the annulment of the election outcome. What right do they have to make such inappropriate and irresponsible remarks?" asked Qashqavi.

Qashqavi asserted that the Tehran government is planning to respond to the stepped-up "foreign interference" in due time.

Qashqavi went on to criticize foreign media outlets for dramatizing the post-election developments taking place in Iran, saying their efforts to launch a cyber war against the government is "totally out of line".

"They have resorted into hacking Iranian news sites as a means to widen the gap between the government and the people," he said.

Earlier on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had also warned Europe and the US against meddling with Iran's domestic issues.

Over the past few days, Washington and a slew of European powers have adopted a raucous stance on the June 12 election, which saw incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad win by a landslide.

Defeated presidential rivals Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have called for the nullification of the results and demanded a re-run, giving rise to eight consecutive days of protests and illegal rallies.

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