Defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi demanded Sunday that Iran's presidential vote be annulled and urged more protests, while tens of thousands of people hailed the victory of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mousavi's supporters again took to the streets after violence Saturday, clashing with police in protests that have underscored harsh political divisions exposed by Friday's disputed election. In a statement on his website, Mousavi said he had formally asked the Guardian Council, a legislative body, to cancel the election result. “I urge you, Iranian nation, to continue your nationwide protests in a peaceful and legal way,” he added. The unrest that has rocked Tehran and other cities since results were declared on Saturday is the sharpest expression of discontent against the republic's leadership for years. About 2,000 students at Tehran University, some carrying Mousavi posters, others covering their faces with bandanas, chanted anti-government slogans and taunted riot police across the road outside. Some threw stones at police when they chased protesters who had tried to gather outside the university gates. Police on motorcycles drove through the crowd to disperse the protesters. At least one person, a woman, was injured. Ahmadinejad described the election as “clean and healthy”, dismissing complaints by defeated candidates as sour grapes. “They may be upset by their failure,” he told a news conference.
