Iran’s leader: End protests or risk ‘bloodshed’

Khamenei criticizes protesters
The anger over the alleged vote-rigging "has coalesced behind Mousavi," said Michael Hanna, a Middle East analyst based in New York.

"But all the main protagonists are figures from within the establishment of the Islamic Republic," he said. "It doubtful whether Mousavi (and his political backers) are really out to overturn the basic structures and underpinnings of the Islamic Republic."

The protest movement, however, has appeared to gain some solid footing after days of street clashes that left parts of Tehran scorched and battered. Four consecutive days of huge marches this week streamed through Tehran with powerful images. Mousavi urged supporters to wear black in mourning for the alleged vote-rigging and those who died in the violence.

"Some people assume that through street riots they can have pressure over the establishment, and try to force the officials to actually listen to them. This is also wrong," Khamenei said. "Giving in to illegal demands and requests under pressure — this is itself the beginning of dictatorship."

He also accused foreign media and Western countries of trying to create a political rift and stir up chaos. Iranian leaders often blame foreign "enemies" for plots against the country, but Khamenei's comments suggest Iran could remain cool to expanding dialogue with the West and the offer of opening talks with Washington.

"Some of our enemies in different parts of the world intended to depict this absolute victory, this definitive victory, as a doubtful victory," he said. "It is your victory. They cannot manipulate it."

Accusing 'enemies'
Khamenei blamed the United States, Britain and "other enemies" for fomenting unrest. He said Iran would not see a second revolution like those that transformed the countries of the former Soviet Union.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other European Union leaders expressed dismay over the threat of a crackdown. The British Foreign Office told Iran's charge d'affairs in London that Khamenei's comments were "unacceptable and had no basis in fact," a spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with policy.

Both houses of the U.S. Congress approved a resolution condemning "the ongoing violence" by the Iranian government and its suppression of the Internet and cell phones. It also expressed support for Iranian citizens who embrace freedom.

The Republican-backed resolution was a veiled criticism of President Barack Obama, who has been reluctant to speak too strongly about the disputed election. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the resolution is consistent with Obama's message condemning the violence in Iran.

In an interview taped Friday with CBS, Obama said he is very concerned by the "tenor and tone" of Khamenei's comments. He also said that how Iran's leaders "approach and deal with people who are, through peaceful means, trying to be heard" will signal "what Iran is and is not."

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged Iran's leaders not to "do anything irreversible" that could further endanger the country's stability.

"We support the Iranian people, and today the Iranian people are on the street" calling for "more moderation and more reason," he said at an European Union summit in Brussels.

In Switzerland, Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi said Iran should hold a new election observed by international monitors, adding that more than 500 people have been arrested since the balloting. Her human rights office in Iran was raided last year, its files confiscated and several members subsequently arrested.

Communications concerns
The Friday prayer service, which Khamenei leads only several times a year, also featured some internal fence-mending. He praised the long political career of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was highly critical of Ahmadinejad in the campaign.

Rafsanjani's opposition has raised speculation of possible rifts emerging in the ruling theocracy over the election. Rafsanjani heads a panel of clerics with the power to review the supreme leader's performance and remove him — although that has never been used.

Ahmadinejad has appeared to take the opposition more seriously in recent days, backtracking Thursday on his dismissal of the protesters as "dust" and sore losers.

The crowds in Tehran and elsewhere have been able to organize despite a government clampdown on the Internet and cell phones. The government has blocked certain Web sites, such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and several pro-Mousavi sites that are conduits for Iranians to tell the world about protests and violence.

Text messaging has not been working in Iran since last week, and cell phone service in Tehran is frequently down.

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