TEHRAN (AFP) — Tens of thousands of supporters of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi demonstrated for a sixth straight day on Thursday, keeping up the pressure on the Islamic regime over the disputed vote, witnesses told AFP.
The rally came as the electoral watchdog, the Guardians Council, said it was investigating 646 complaints of poll violations from Mousavi and the other two losing candidates.
The council also invited the trio to set out their grievances on Saturday, with a decision on Sunday about any possible recount in the June 12 election which returned hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.
Mousavi joined the crowds, most of whom were dressed in black as a mark of mourning for demonstrators killed in clashes during the protests, which have been banned by the authorities, witnesses said.
The crowds dispersed quietly about five hours later, witnesses said.
State radio has reported seven deaths since the protests started.
Foreign journalists have been barred from attending all rallies or other events without express authority.
Protesters carried pictures of Mousavi -- who is demanding a new election -- and placards bearing slogans such as "We have not had people killed to compromise and accept a doctored ballot box," one witness said.
Mousavi appeared despite warnings from the hardline Basij militia, which has been at the forefront of action against protests, for defeated candidates to dissociate themselves from the "rioters."
Facing their biggest crisis since the 1979 revolution against the shah, Iran's Islamic rulers have gone on the offensive.
They arrested protesters and prominent reformists, tightened their grip on the media and lashed out at "meddling" by foreign foes, including the United States.
Besides the seven reported deaths, many more people have been wounded in the worst violence for at least a decade, with protests reported in provincial cities as well as Tehran.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he would consider a partial recount after Ahmadinejad's defeated challengers lodged formal complaints of vote-rigging.
And in a rare move, Khamenei is due to lead the weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran on Friday, in the presence of the Basij militia.
Meanwhile state television reported that a plot with "extensive ties" to unnamed foreign interests had been uncovered to carry out bombings in Tehran on election day.
World powers have raised concern about the situation, particularly the violence and widespread arrests, with some European leaders publicly speaking of fraud and irregularities.
The Iranian mission to the European Union hit back on Thursday saying that foreign support for the opposition demonstrators "cannot be justified."
On Wednesday, Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents American interests in Iran, to protest at what it called "interfering remarks" by US officials.
Warning they would crush any "velvet revolution," the authorities have rounded up scores of people, even former government officials.
Ebrahim Yazdi and Mohammad Tavasoli, veteran revolutionaries and leaders of Iran's Liberation Movement were arrested on Wednesday, the Etemad Melli newspaper reported.
Unofficial reports said Yazdi was detained at a hospital emergency unit.
In a sign of cracks emerging within the Iranian elite, several influential clerics spoke out about the election results and the subsequent crackdowns.
Ayatollah Mehdi Hadavi Tehrani called on Thursday for Interior Minister Sadeq Mahouli to be impeached.
The combative Ahmadinejad -- who set Iran on a collision course with the West during his first four-year term -- remained defiant, saying his victory showed faith in his government of "honesty and service to the people."
Mousavi and reformist former president Mohammad Khatami, who was succeeded by Ahmadinejad in 2005, issued a joint letter on Wednesday urging authorities to release those arrested and halt the violence.
"We ask you to take all the necessary measures to put an end to today's worrying situation, to stop the violent actions against people and to free those arrested," said the letter, published on Mousavi's website.
Fars news agency reported that a daughter and son of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani -- who has been a prominent Mousavi supporter -- were barred from leaving Iran over their alleged role in disturbances since the election.
On Wednesday, state television showed footage of Rafsanjani's daughter Faezeh talking animatedly among Tehran protesters. Her brother Mehdi Hashemi was the target of mudslinging by Ahmadinejad during the election campaign.
In new measures against the media, the elite Revolutionary Guards told websites to delete material that "creates tensions" or face legal action, while the foreign ministry accused some media of becoming the "mouthpiece of the rioters' movement."
The media curbs prompted protests Thursday in Paris, where several dozen journalists and the press watchdog Reporters Without Borders staged a rally outside the Iranian embassy.
RSF secretary general, Jean-Francois Julliard, protested against Iran's decision not to renew 10-day visas issued to visiting correspondents, which are due to expire in the coming days.
Pictures, videos and updates from Iran's streets continue to pour in to social-networking and image-sharing websites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube despite Iranian efforts to cut off mobile phones and the Internet.
Some jumpy amateur video footage broadcast on the Internet has shown chaotic and sometimes brutal scenes of violence, with police beating protesters. One image purportedly showed a protester shot dead during Monday's massive demonstrations.
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