WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said Saturday it was monitoring reports of irregularities in Iran's hotly contested presidential race, in which hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared winner.
"Like the rest of the world, we were impressed by the vigorous debate and enthusiasm that this election generated, particularly among young Iranians," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a two-sentence statement.
"We continue to monitor the entire situation closely, including reports of irregularities."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed hope the Iranian presidential vote would reflect voters' will.
"We hope that the outcome reflects the genuine will and desire of the Iranian people," the top US diplomat told reporters during a visit to Niagara Falls, Canada.
"We watched closely the enthusiasm and the very vigorous debate and dialogue that occurred in the lead-up to the Iranian elections. We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran," Clinton said.
"But we, like the rest of the world, are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide."
Ahmadinejad was declared winner by a landslide in the hotly disputed presidential vote, triggering riots by opposition supporters and furious complaints of cheating from his defeated rivals.
In a statement on national television Saturday, Ahmadinejad declared the election a "great victory," even as baton-wielding police were clashing with protestors in the streets of the capital in unrest not seen since student riots a decade ago.
Thousands of supporters of main challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi took to the streets shouting "Down with the Dictator" after final results showed Ahmadinejad winning almost 63 percent of the vote.
Moderate ex-premier Mousavi cried foul over election irregularities and warned the outcome of the vote could lead to "tyranny," as some of his supporters were beaten by riot police.
But Ahmadinejad rejected the allegations.
"The election was completely free... and it is a great victory," he said in his television address, adding that Iranians had "inspired other nations and disappointed their ill-wishers" in their vote.
Thanking all his supporters for creating "this huge epic," Ahmadinejad said he intends in his new term of office to walk the same path but with a "higher and wider perspective."
The Iranian interior minister said Mousavi had won less than 34 percent of the vote, giving Ahmadinejad another four-year term in a result that dashed Western hopes of change and set the scene for a possible domestic power struggle.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
