TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran‘s supreme leader said on Wednesday opposition protests that erupted after the country’s June presidential vote were planned in advance, but he said he did not believe its leaders were agents of foreigners.
Iranian officials have previously portrayed the protests as a foreign-backed bid to topple the clerical establishment. They have accused Western powers, particularly the United States and Britain of fomenting the unrest, a charge denied by Washington and London.
The June 12 vote has plunged Iran into its most serious internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution and has exposed deep divisions in the establishment’s ruling elite.
Some hardliners have repeatedly called for the arrest of opposition leaders who say the vote was rigged to secure the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
“I do not accuse the leaders of recent events as being the agents of foreigners, including America and Britain… >>>
