Violence flares after Iran's election shock

VIOLENCE flared in Tehran yesterday after Iran declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner in an election that was branded a "dangerous charade" by his main opponent.

Hundreds of supporters of arch-rival Mir-Hossein Mousavi clashed with riot police as, to the astonishment of the watching world, the hardline Ahmadinejad was re-elected with a landslide 62.6 per cent, upsetting widespread expectations the contest would at least go to a second round.

The pro-reform Mousavi only polled 33.75 per cent despite being tipped as having a real chance of ending the president's four-year grip on power. A statement from Mousavi condemned what he called the "manipulation" of results.

The Israeli government warned that world leaders must now act to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions. "If there was a shadow of hope for a change in Iran, the renewed choice of Ahmadinejad expresses more than anything the growing Iranian threat," Israeli spokesman Danny Ayalon said. "The international community must stop a nuclear Iran and Iranian terror immediately."

The official declaration of the result after the counting of almost 40 million votes triggered the most serious unrest in Tehran for a decade.

Demonstrators wearing the trademark green of Mousavi's campaign chanted slogans and set fire to barricades of tyres outside the interior ministry. Riot police attacked opposition supporters, beating them with clubs and smashing cars.

With claims that a commercial bank elsewhere in the city had been set on fire, police also moved to disperse any large gatherings of people.

Mousavi said the result, if allowed to stand, would lead to tyranny. "I personally strongly protest the many obvious violations and I'm warning I will not surrender to this dangerous charade," he said. Last night, Ahmadinejad countered that it was a "free and healthy election. People voted for my policies".

Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, said America was monitoring the outcome of the election closely and hoped the result reflected the will of the Iranian people.