Iran: June 13th, 2009

Follow-Up On Earlier Posts

Yes, the president of Iran's own election monitoring commission has declared the resultinvalid and called for a do-over. That is huge news: when a regime's own electoral monitors beak ranks, what chance does the regime have of persuading anyone in the world or Iran that it has democratic legitimacy? Second:

Been following these people all day: 
http://twitter.com/alirezasha 
http://twitter.com/Gita 
http://twitter.com/iran09 
http://twitter.com/iranbaan 
http://twitter.com/IranRiggedElect 
http://twitter.com/mahdi 
http://twitter.com/mohamadreza 
http://twitter.com/mousavi1388 
http://twitter.com/Mynumberone1988 
http://twitter.com/Shahrzadmo 
http://twitter.com/smileofcrash 
http://twitter.com/StopAhmadi 
http://twitter.com/tehranelection 
http://twitter.com/TwitPersia 
http://twitter.com/Change_for_Iran (new - posting through a proxy at 2kbs) 
http://twitter.com/ramezanpour (new) 
http://twitter.com/KeyvanGheissari (new) 
http://twitter.com/y_shar (new) 
http://twitter.com/IranElection09 (new) 
http://twitter.com/parhamdoustdar (new) 
http://twitter.com/keyvan (new)

I'm liveblogging the latest Iran election fallout. Email me with any news or thoughts.

9:21 AM ET -- Mousavi urges supporters to continue protests. Reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi "urged his supporters on Sunday to continue with their protests, but in a peaceful and non-confrontational manner," AFP reports.

"I again advise you to continue the civil and legal opposition throughout the country peacefully and in a non-confrontational manner," he said in a statement on his campaign website.

9:03 AM ET -- Still no sign of Mousavi.Ahmadinejad's main rival Mousavi has not been seen in public for over 24 hours. There have been varying accounts that he and other senior officials in his camp are under house arrest, though he has not addressed those charges in any of his statements thus far.

8:47 AM ET -- Iran shuts down Al-Arabiya bureau. CNN reports:

Iranian authorities closed Al-Arabiya's Tehran bureau for a week without offering a reason, the Arabic network announced on its Web site Sunday in Arabic and English.

The announcement came on the heels of the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who insisted Sunday his country had a free press.

In an amazing turn of events after an even more amazing day in the history of Modern Iran, during a live televised Press Conference in Iran, the disputed Ahmadejad was very boldy challenged by Robert Fisk, reporter for the Independent.

He challenged Ahmadinejad with courage.

Read full report here.