Iran arrests 7 allegedly tied to exiles in France

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Mousavi: 'Danger ahead'
"A majority of the people — including me — do not accept its political legitimacy," he said of the regime, adding: "There's a danger ahead. A ruling system which relied on people's trust for 30 years cannot replace this trust with security forces overnight."

Iran's ruling clerics have called the elections "pure" and "healthy" following Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's declaration that the results would stand.

Iran's government also faces pressure from the West, sharpened after the detention last week of several Iranians employed by the British Embassy. Iranian state television reported all but one of those detained has been released.

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The European Union on Thursday called on Iran to release all the employees, but it held off on a British request that all 27 EU ambassadors be withdrawn from Tehran. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said it was too early to recall the envoys and the EU is "awaiting how the Iranian authorities will react." He said "more than one" of the employees remained in detention.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday called Thursday for next week's Group of Eight summit to send a "strong message of unity" in support of Iranians' human rights, and said efforts to address concerns over Tehran's nuclear ambitions must remain on track.

But her call stopped short of Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi's statement this week that the G-8 nations would consider sanctions against Iran.

G-8 member Russia rejected the possibility of sanctions.

"Such a step would trigger unwelcome events inside and outside the country," Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told a briefing in Moscow. Russia has close relations with Iran, including building the nuclear power plant at the center of speculation that Iran aims to develop nuclear weapons, and President Dmitry Medvedev smilingly welcomed Ahmadinejad at a security summit in Russia four days after the election.