Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Reformist cleric says won't stand down in Iran vote
Tue Jun 9, 2009 9:33am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Dominic Evans and Hashem Kalantari
TEHRAN (Reuters) - A reformist cleric contesting Iran's presidential election said on Tuesday he would defy growing calls to stand aside and unify moderate voters against hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mehdi Karoubi, the most liberal of Ahmadinejad's rivals in Friday's election, is seen as an outsider in the race and has come under pressure from reformists to withdraw and boost the chances of former prime minister Mirhossein Mousavi.
"I will never withdraw," he told a news conference. "I believe the larger the number of candidates, the better."
But an ally said Karoubi, a former parliamentary speaker, was likely to face continued pressure to stand down in the next few days in order to avoid splitting the pro-reform vote.
Like Karoubi, Mousavi accuses Ahmadinejad of isolating Iran with his vitriolic attacks on the United States, his combative line on Iran's nuclear policy and his denial of the Holocaust.
He advocates easing nuclear tensions, while rejecting demands that Tehran halt nuclear work which the West fears could be used to make bombs. Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Friday's election will not change Tehran's nuclear policy, which is decided by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but a victory for Mousavi could pave the way to a less confrontational relationship with the West.
The United Nations has imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, steps which Ahmadinejad has repeatedly brushed aside.
"Let the world know that if the Iranian nation should re-elect this small servant, he would go forward in the world arena with the nation's authority and would not withdraw an iota from the nation's rights," Fars news agency quoted him as saying on Tuesday in the Caspian Sea province of Mazenderan.
HEATED CLASH
Mousavi's campaign has gained momentum in the run-up to the vote after he clashed with Ahmadinejad in a heated televised debate last week.
But analysts caution against predicting the election outcome, especially after the relatively unknown Ahmadinejad unexpectedly won the presidency in 2005.
Despite criticism that his free-spending policies have fueled inflation and squandered oil revenues, he still has the backing of Khamenei and can mobilize support of the Basij, a religious volunteer force with millions of members.
Mousavi will count on support of Iranians, particularly younger voters, disenchanted with Ahmadinejad's efforts to steer the country back to the Islamist austerity of the 1979 revolution.
Thousands of Mousavi's supporters have thronged the streets of relatively affluent northern Tehran in nightly demonstrations, dressed in his green campaign colors, waving his picture and blocking traffic into the early hours. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Afghanistan and Pakistan
Fighting the Taliban
A growing insurgency in Afghanistan is also spreading deep into Pakistan, making both countries crucial to U.S. war efforts in the region. Full Coverage
More International News
Russia source says North Korea readying launches: report
| Video
Air France to replace sensors at once: union
| Video
WHO getting close to declaring H1N1 pandemic
U.S. envoy assures Israel of strong alliance
Thai authorities hunt gunmen in mosque attack
| Video
More International News...
Featured Broker sponsored link
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
U.S. war funding bill brims with unrelated extras
U.S. to allow 10 banks to repay TARP money: report
Apple halves iPhone to $99, trims Mac prices | Video
Chrysler's Bankruptcy Hiccup
Republicans to counter Dems' U.S. financial reforms
Fiat to stay course on Chrysler despite court delay | Video
Most firms unaware of Web domain changes: survey
UPDATE 2-Citigroup $58 bln stock swap coming this week
Air France to replace sensors at once: union | Video
CEO forgot to tell wife about pay cut
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Air France search continues
North Korea ups the stakes
Obama expedites stimulus
Families win Omagh bomb civil suit
Carradine mystery continues
Centre-right dominates EU Elections
Tokyo's top dog skateboards
Search continues for U.S. climber
Rally after attacks on Indians
Bodies from Air France crash found
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
Fearing the supermen of Guantanamo
Bernd Debusmann
The language used in the debate over plans to close the detention center has taken on a surreal quality and convey the impression that Guantanamo detainees will wander the streets, shopping for sandals and guns. Commentary
Follow Bernd Debusmann on Twitter
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.