Ahmadinejad tells West not to interfere
Amid allegations of election fraud and ensuing civil unrest, president says with 'hasty' remarks US, Britain will 'not be placed in circle of friendship with Iranian nation'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the United States and Britain on Sunday to stop interfering in the Islamic Republic's internal affairs after its presidential election, the ISNA news agency said.
"Definitely by hasty remarks you will not be placed in the circle of friendship with the Iranian nation. Therefore I advise you to correct your interfering stances," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in a meeting with clerics and scholars.
Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, was directing this remark at US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, ISNA said.
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Many Western countries have criticized the election, which was won by Ahmadinejad according to official figures, and its aftermath. His main opponent, moderate Mirhossein Mousavi, says the vote was rigged. The government denies the charge.
"They (Western countries) want to portray as small the great and powerful position that has been created for the Iranian nation inside and outside after the recent election, by which of course they made a mistake and they showed they still do not know the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad said.
"Definitely recent events will add to the Islamic Republic of Iran's greatness and might," he said.
Riots in Tehran (Photo: Reuters)
Earlier on Sunday, in an address to foreign diplomats in Tehran, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki denounced what he described as "interfering remarks" by British officials regarding the vote.
He said Britain for a long time had "targeted elections" in Iran and suggested that people linked to British intelligence had travelled to the country prior to this month's election.
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband responded by saying that foreign countries have played no part in supporting the violent street protests that erupted in Iran after the disputed presidential election.
"I reject categorically the idea that the protesters in Iran are manipulated or motivated by foreign countries," he said in a statement. "The UK is categorical that it is for the Iranian people to choose their government and for the Iranian authorities to ensure the fairness of the result and the protection of their own people."
