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  Date / Time: 6/15/2009 5:55 AM UTC

  Iran election anger boils
  

  The system in Iran doesn't give the president such [great] power. . . . If you put anyone in the presidency, liberal or secular or whoever, he can do nothing Iran election anger boils Protesters angered by alleged vote count fraud erupted in street violence for a second day today, throwing rocks and setting fire to storefronts as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended his reelection as "free and real" in a press appearance before local and international journalists. Vigorous and assertive, Ahmadinejad vowed to maintain his tough foreign policy posture in his second term. Afterward, he appeared before a massive rally in his support in Tehran's Vali Asr Square, with thousands of supporters waving red, white and green Iranian flags and banners with religious slogans. Ahmadinejad was swiftly declared the overwhelming winner over more moderate challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi after a hotly contested race. But even before Friday's voting ended, Mousavi and another candidate, Mehdi Karroubi, complained of massive vote-rigging. When vote totals were announced showing Ahmadinejad with more than 63% of the vote, a night of rowdy riots and unrest by demonstrators against Ahmadinejad ensued throughout the capital and in Isfahan, Tabriz, Orumieh, Rasht and Shiraz. Riot police and hard-line Ansar-e Hezbollah militiamen fought running street battles with young men and women into early this morning. Clashes between riot police and demonstrators today appeared to be less severe than the ones Saturday, but could escalate again as darkness falls. State media quoted police officials saying they had detained nearly a dozen people who allegedly instigated protests. But they denied claims by campaign officials that Mousavi and Karroubi were under house arrest. Through a website, Mousavi called on supporters to refrain from violence and "harming themselves." He also announced plans to formally appeal the vote results. Another presidential contender Mohsen Rezai, the sole conservative who ran against Ahmadinejad, said he recognized the legitimacy. "A person who has become president through legal procedures is the president of all Iranian people," the former Revolutionary Guard commander said in a statement. At his first news conference since his reelection was announced, Ahmadinejad likened his opponents to angry soccer fans committing a traffic violation leaving the stadium after a game. "He's going to be fined, but he's still a citizen of this country," he said. The Obama administration has publicly welcomed comprehensive talks with Iran as a way of ending 30 years of mutual hostility between Washington and Tehran and resolving an impasse over the country's nuclear program. But Ahmadinejad today suggested he would not change course on major foreign and domestic issues that have made him a lightning rod of criticism for the West. He repeated his willingness to "debate" Obama publicly at the United Nations, and downplayed international concerns about Iran's nuclear research program, which Western nations believe is aimed at developing nuclear weapons and Iran says is for civilian purposes. "I think that the nuclear issue belongs to the past," Ahmadinejad told reporters. "We call for a global consensus on nuclear disarmament." Ahmadinejad also rejected the possibility of a U.S. or Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. "Who dares to do such a thing today?" he said in a response to a question from a reporter. "Who dares to even think about it? No power can even threaten Iran." In a television appearance today Vice President Joe Biden spoke skeptically about the election results. "It sure looks like the way they're suppressing speech, the way they're suppressing crowds, the way in which people are being treated, that there's some real doubt," he told NBC's "Meet the Press" when asked if Ahmadinejad had won the vote. In Iraq, Shiite lawmaker Sami Askari, a confidante of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, said that, on the basis of the announced results, he didn't expect Iran's policies toward Iraq will change -- nor would it have if Mousavi had won because Iranian presidents have limited power. "Ahmadinejad staying as president [means] the same system, the same administration, the same government, the same attitude," Askari said. "The system in Iran doesn't give the president such [great] power. . . . If you put anyone in the presidency, liberal or secular or whoever, he can do nothing." Iranian authorities continued a crackdown on media today, reportedly closing the Tehran offices of Dubai based Al-Arabiya, which is popular among the country's restive Arab minority, concentrated in the southwest. The semi-official ISNA news agency quoted an official confirming that the government had blocked five pro-Mousavi websites. But after a day of media blackout, the state-controlled news channel showed footage of the clashes, without scenes of police pummeling demonstrators. Asked about the state of civil liberties in Iran, Ahmadinejad said Iranians enjoyed "absolute freedom" of speech. "Don't worry about freedom in Iran," Ahmadinejad told reporters. "Newspapers come and go and reappear. Don't worry about it." daragahi@latimes.com Mostaghim is a special correspondent.

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