Thread: Iran Election June 09

This is another crucial Friday sermon for Iran.

In Iran, thousands gather for Rafsanjani sermon

17 July [LATimes] The address by the reformist cleric, who has backed contender Mir-Hossein Mousavi, could add fuel to the opposition protests, but some think he might seek to ease tensions

Reporting from Tehran and Beirut -- Thousands of supporters of opposition figurehead Mir-Hossein Mousavi began cramming into downtown Tehran early this afternoon, some with emblematic green ribbons wrapped around their fingers, to attend a potentially momentous sermon by Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani that could herald a new stage in the political drama that has followed the disputed June 12 reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Rafsanjani's long-awaited sermon could pour water on the ongoing fire of protests or add more fuel to the dispute within the ruling establishment and Iranian society over the election results, which the powerful Guardian Council confirmed again Thursday in a 39-page document posted to its website.

Ubiquitous police officers posted near the university, opposition supporters and hundreds of plainclothes pro-government Basiji militiamen are bracing for tensions during and after the prayers, when Mousavi supporters plan to chant slogans and march while security forces attempt to disperse them.

Many Mousavi supporters could be seen gathering along sidewalks near the venue to listen to the sermon and join the demonstration at the end of prayers. Among them were many women in tight overcoats grasping plastic bags with more conservative garb for the prayer sermon.

Reformist leaders, including presidential candidates Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and former President Mohammad Khatami, have vowed to attend. ....

This is a BBC report after Rafsanjani's Friday sermon.

Call for Iran protesters' release

17 July [BBC] Former Iranian President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani has called for the release of people jailed after protesting at the result of the recent election.

In his first Friday sermon since the vote, he also said large numbers of Iranians still doubted its result.

Iranian police fired tear gas to disperse opposition supporters gathered for prayers at Tehran University.

There were chants of support for defeated election candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who attended the prayers. Mr Mousavi has demanded a re-run of the vote and described the new government as illegitimate.

Thousands of his supporters gathered in the streets of Tehran after Friday prayers - the first large opposition rally for more than a week. This followed warnings from a minister against turning the occasion into a "stage for undesirable scenes".

Mr Rafsanjani is a key power-broker in Iranian politics and has been a backer of Mr Mousavi.

During his sermon, broadcast live on state radio, he said something had to be done to allay people's doubts about the recent election result. ....

Mr Rafsanjani also appealed for an open debate on radio and TV about the disputed 12 June election and called for media restrictions to be eased. ....

Mr Rafsanjani's comments came very close to a direct challenge to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's most senior political figure, says the BBC's Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne who was ordered out of Iran last month.

It was the first time in two months that Mr Rafsanjani had led weekly prayers at Tehran University. ....

It could be a key moment in the confrontation between Mr Ahmadinejad's government and members of the opposition, our correspondent says. ....