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  Date / Time: 7/2/2009 8:03 PM UTC

  Iran Mir Hossein Mousavi calls Iranian government illegitimate
  

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  Mir Hossein Mousavi calls Iranian government illegitimate

  • Attack on 'obsession with security' follows arrests
  • First statement since poll result rubber-stamped

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  • Ian Black, Middle East editor
  • guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 1 July 2009 20.48 BST

  

  An Iranian woman holds up a picture of the latest crackdown by Iranian police on reformist protesters in Tehran. Photograph: Marwan Naamani/AFP/Getty Images

  Iran's defeated presidential challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, declared today that he considered Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's new government illegitimate, and called for protests to continue.

  In a defiant statement posted on his website, the moderate leader also called for the release of detained "children of the revolution" – a reference to reformist figures arrested since the 12 June poll. Iran's national police chief said 1,032 people had been detained and most freed. The rest had been "referred to the public and revolutionary courts".

  Mousavi's language seemed chosen to suggest that the Islamic regime, which in the last two weeks has seen the worst unrest in 30 years, was betraying the basic principles of the 1979 revolution.

  "It is our historical responsibility to continue our protests and not to abandon our efforts to preserve the nation's rights," insisted the former prime minister.

  "From now on we will have a government which from the point of view of ties with the public is in the weakest of positions. A majority of society, of which I personally am a member, do not accept the legitimacy of this government."

  Mousavi also demanded an end to the regime's "obsession" with security, the reform of electoral laws he believes were abused, the constitutional right to free political assembly, an end to restrictions on the media, and the right to set up independent television stations.

  It was his first public statement since Monday's final certification by the guardian council – Iran's top legislative body – that there had been no "major irregularities" in the election after a partial recount, despite widespread complaints and suspicions of vote-rigging.

  Mousavi quickly won heavyweight support from Iran's former reformist president, Mohammed Khatami, who decried what he called a "velvet coup against democracy" – a mirror image of the charge by the regime that foreign powers such as Britain and the US are pushing for a "velvet revolution" in the country. "People's protests were suppressed, those who were required to protect people's rights humiliated the people … yet it [the government] speaks of national reconciliation and peace," said Khatami.

  Mehdi Karoubi, the other reformist presidential candidate, said on his website: "I don't consider this government legitimate. I will continue the fight under any circumstances and using every means."

  Analysts said the reformists were seeking to set the tone for the future and keep the hopes of their supporters alive despite the election result and subsequent crackdown. "They want to turn opposition activity into a civil society movement that operates within the law," said Baqer Moin, biographer of Ayatollah Khomeini. "This means there will be a collective reformist effort to prepare for the next election, undermining Ahmadinejad and warning the leadership that the Islamic Republic will lose the confidence of the people. They are saying 'we lost the battle but the war for democracy goes on'."

  Another Iranian expert said: "Mousavi's demands are not new but they are very clear. This is a reformist manifesto … if the regime is looking for a political solution – and they might be because the reformists are too big a group to ignore – the demands could help the regime craft a deal at some point in the future."

  Others expect the hardliners to stand firm, especially after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, clearly expressed support for Ahmadinejad and called on the opposition to respect the president.

  Ahmadinejad's office gave no explanation today of why he cancelled a trip to Libya to attend an African summit. But as western governments ponder their next moves, Iran's top military commander demanded that the EU apologise for its "interference" before any resumption of talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. "Before apologising for their huge mistake … they have no right to talk about nuclear negotiations," Major-General Hassan Firouzabadi was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.

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