Iran: Distributors of vote's 'true results' arrested

A copy of an "official letter", which was posted online and whose authenticity is unclear, has sparked a row in Iran. The letter was allegedly sent by the Iranian interior minister to the country's supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and it suggests reformist presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi had won the elections.

In the letter, the interior minister also asks Khamenei which of the candidates he wished to declare the winner.

The letter

An Iranian news website reported that two suspects, who are believed to be behind the letter's distribution, have been arrested. The conservative website claimed that the two also handed out copies of the letter on board Tehran's train.

Apart from the "odd and absurd" data contained in the letter, said the site, the document lacks a serial number and does not bear the minister's signature.

The letter is said to contain the allegedly true results of the presidential elections, which protesters claim were widely forged. According to the document, Mousavi is the real winner of the elections with 19 million votes, reformist candidate Mehdi Karoubi came second with 13 million votes and President Ahmadinejad only came third with 5.6 million votes. The second conservative nominee, Mohsen Rezai got only 3.7 million votes, the document stated.

Meanwhile, Iran's opposition movement called for a new public rally in Tehran as pressure was building on the regime over President Ahmadinejad's re-election.

Supporters of Mousavi, who has accused the regime of blatant vote-rigging, said they have called another rally in Tehran at 1330 GMT, despite a ban on such gatherings.