Iran Rulers Could Order Limited Recounts

State Media Says Guardian Council Will Order Recounts Where "Evidence" Of Fake IDs Or Vote-Buying Found

(CBS/AP)  Last Updated 3:34 p.m. ET

Iran's Islamic leadership is prepared to conduct a limited recount of disputed presidential elections, a spokesman said Tuesday, as thousands of people took to the streets to show support for the regime and authorities cracked down on independent media.

According to Iran's state-controlled media, the council, which controls nearly every aspect of life and law in the country, said that if they find evidence of fake identity cards being used or votes being bought, they will order a recount in those areas.

State TV quoted council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei as saying that the recount would be limited to voting sites where candidates claim irregularities took place. It was not clear which or how many voting sites would be affected.

CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports that it is hard to envision limited recounts in some areas having a significant effect on the total tally as it stands - a purported landslide victory for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Some Mousavi supporters have called for a compete redo of the election and have taken to the streets to protest, including Monday's dramatic demonstrations in Tehran that ended with at least one person being killed.

But the death toll could be higher. According to Iran's state radio, seven people were killed during the clashes - the first official confirmation of deaths linked to the wave of protests and street battles following the disputed election.

In downtown Tehran, thousands of people gathered Tuesday in dueling rallies - one a state-organized demonstration that Iran's state media said was designed to demand punishment for the rioters from Monday's clashes; the other a "massive" gathering of pro-reform protesters continuing their support for challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Amid the protests, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for national unity after meeting with envoys of the country's four presidential candidates.

Khamenei was quoted as saying that: "In the elections, voters had different tendencies, but they equally believe in the ruling system and support the Islamic Republic."

Khamenei, Iran's ultimate authority, says that representatives of all four candidates should be present for any limited recount of disputed ballots, which the country's cleric-led Guardian Council said Tuesday that it would be willing to conduct.

Meanwhile, after images were shown around the world of mass protests and violence following the disputed election, the government on Tuesday cracked down on journalists.

Authorities restricted journalists, including Iranians working for foreign media from reporting on the streets, and said they could only work from their offices, conducting telephone interviews and monitoring official sources such as state television.

The rules prevent media outlets from sending independent photos or video of street protests or rallies.

Also Tuesday, foreign reporters in Iran to cover last week's elections began leaving the country. Iranian officials said they will not extend their visas.

The 12-member Guardian Council, made up of clerics and experts in Islamic law and closely allied to Khamenei, must certify ballot results and has the apparent authority to nullify an election. But it would be an unprecedented step. Claims of voting irregularities went to the council after Ahmadinejad's upset victory in 2005, but there was no official word on the outcome of the inquiry, and the vote stood.

"It's a little difficult to imagine that they're going to do a good job, because the Council of Guardians is the organization that basically disqualifies anybody they don't like from the election," Gary Sick, a former White House advisor on Iran who is still considered one of the world's foremost experts on the country, explained to CBS News. "They have a history of taking a partisan position, so it's difficult to see them doing a serious investigation."

Sick pointed out, however, that given the furor generated by these election results and the fierce opposition from within the country, "there are a lot of people looking over their shoulders, and it may be harder to run a cover-up than it had appeared on the surface."

More likely, the dramatic intervention by Khamenei and the Guardian Council could buy time in hopes of reducing the anti-Ahmadinejad anger. The prospect of spiraling protests and clashes is the ultimate nightmare for the Islamic establishment, which could be forced into back-and-forth confrontations and risks having the dissidents move past the elected officials and directly target the ruling theocracy.

Sick told CBS News that Iran's regime may be finding it harder to "cover up" the purported election fraud than they expected.

"They anticipated that there would be an outburst of opposition, they would crack down hard - which they have done - people would back away and be intimidated and that would end it in a day or so. It hasn't worked that way," added Sick.

There was no immediate word from Mousavi on the announcement, but he said Monday he was not hopeful that the council would address his charges because he believes they are not neutral and have already indicated support for Ahmadinejad.

[tmittelstaed]

They will find inadequacies in the voting in some of these areas and that will be used by Kahmenei to justify widening the inquiry - watch this, within a week Ahmadinajad will seek asylum in Russia and Mousavi will be in power. At this point all Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cares about is making sure that the rigged election is not viewed by the people as being his responsibility - so they are stepping through this elaborate investigation so that Khamenei can pretend to be surprised that Ahmadinajad was working behind his back. And as for the pro-Ahmadinajad rally, that is designed to get all the Ahmadinajad supporters all fired up about their candidate so that when Khamenei reveals that Ahmadinajad rigged the election, that his supporters will feel that Ahmadinajad betrayed them and turn on him.
This was planned out months in advance - between Mousavi and Khamenei. Don't ever think that Iran doesn't care how the rest of the world views them - they most definitely do. Khamenei knows that Ahmadinajad is now a liability for Iran in the eyes of the rest of the world, the problem though is that if Khamenei simply goes against Ahmadinajad, then Ahmadinajad's supporters now become Khamenei's enemies. Instead, Khamenei has to discredit Ahmadinajad and what better way to do so than by accusing him of vote-rigging. So all Khamenei had to do is encourage and help Ahmadinajad to rig the election which Ahmadinajad certainly jumped at the chance to do - and then make the results so lopsided as to trigger street protests - and use those as a justification to hang Ahmadinajad out to dry.
My guess is Ahmadinajad is busy touring Moscow now looking for a nice secure house for him and his family to live in.

[starleo146]

Why do the Republican hawks want us to get involved with the Iranian election what is wrong with them we have to deal with Iran for a long time and interfering now will only make the people mad and he wants them to be able to speak in there way not the way we want them to, the reason we are in this trouble is because we stick our noses and mouths where it doesn't belong and I am glad he thinks before he speaks

[Oregon_State_OSU]

65% of the population of IRAN are Young People and they want change. With Hand written ballots there is NO WAY under the sun that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could declare victory hours after the polls closed. It would take weeks and hundreds of people counting votes to even come close.

Its very sad because the Hard Liners in IRAN know the Tide is Turning and they younger generation wants Freedom. This was planed months ago and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the crusty Hard Liner moldy oldies rigged the election. Just wait until 2012.

[starleo146]

They will never go back saying they found inadequacies in the voting. Ahmadinajad is on his way to Russia as we speak, would they send him there if they are going to change their minds I don't think so. The people of Iran will see their holy leader is nothing but a liar, and if the people see that,they think it is bad now ,I see Revolution and finally hope for the people of Iran.

[ramos1129]

This is rich. The same folks who stole the election are in charge of a partial recount. There will be no independent observers. A person would have to be very stupid to believe that these guys would not do anything to validate their first count.

[thetrajectory]

According to me there are few discrepancies in the way in which the western media is handling the Iran election issue. It needs to be realized that the POLITICAL SYSTEM in Iran is flawed and non-democratic; merely the victory of Ahmadinejad has not made it less democratic. Neither are the election officials nor the security forces overlooking the polling process in Iran are neutral or apolitical; they are appointed by the Supreme Leader and owe allegiance to him. This flawed election process existed before President Ahmadinejad came to power and would have not changed if Hossein Mousavi was elected the new President.
I fully condemn the results of Iran?s elections; not because President Ahmadinejad has won but because the country?s election system is flawed.
http://thetrajectory.com/blogs/?p=603

[CLoverNYC1]

Many islamic countries have de facto religious leaders or kings who wield limitless power and far more influence than elected officials.

Squinty aka Ahmadinejad is just a puppet for the ayatollah Khamenei who wants to keep his job, so he's never going to take less than a hardline toward the US in general and Israel in particular - no matter how charismatic President Obama may be.

[ubrew12]

Just the fact that Iran is in turmoil after an election is news that Iran is really much closer to the gregarious many-opinioned country we on the left thought it to be. Those on the right who've insisted its a closed theocracy are seen to be wrong: such dissent just doesn't happen in such countries. Open societies, with youth who have definite, loud opinions about how things should be, are not at great risk of selling nukes to terrorists, or becoming bad actors on the international stage. I hope the youth win: and that Iran becomes a much less potent supporter of Hezbollah, etc.

Compare that to N Korea!! Now there's a bad actor, and scary.

[mrs_trepidatious]

Yes they could but they want the Christian candidate to lose so they wont.

[mrjustice1]

YES, OF COURSE THE IRANIAN REGIME WILL FIX THE ELECTION RESULTS.

OH YEAH - THEY'LL FIX IT ALRIGHT!

THE CURRENT IRANIAN REGIME IS A TREMENDOUS THREAT TO THE WORLD.

THE CURRENT IRANIAN REGIME IS NOT WORKING IN THE GOOD INTEREST OF THE WORLD AND ITS PEOPLE!

THE ENTIRE FREE WESTERN WORLD SHOULD BE WORKING TO TOPPLE THE CURRENT, TERRORISM-SUPPORTING, ISLAMOFASCIST IRANIAN REGIME!!!

[connunism]

Is your term "Islamofascist" one you picked up in the pews of your southern evangelical church, or did it come from the fake news from the fascists at FOX?