Mousavi protests election result

Mir Hossein Mousavi has denounced the result, saying there were violations and vote-rigging during the election. His supporters took to the streets and clashed with police in the capital Tehran.

A supporter of Iran's moderate presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi holds a piece of paper that reads "We write Mousavi, they read Ahmadinejad" during post-election unrest in Tehran June 13, 2009.REUTERS/Stringer

Mousavi issued a statement on his website on Saturday, strongly protesting what he called violations in Friday's presidential election.

He said he would not surrender to manipulation. And he called on authorities to immediately end the violations.

His statement also urged his supporters to resist a "governance of lies and dictatorship".

Thousands of Mousavi's backers took to the streets on Saturday, protesting Ahmadinejad's election victory.

They set up barricades in the capital and set fire to tyres outside the Interior Ministry. Riot police fought back with clubs to disperse crowds.

Fires were still burning after nightfall in some areas, though the streets appeared quiet.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranians to be united and to respect Ahmadinejad's victory. In a message on TV, Khamenei congratulated the incumbent President and called on defeated candidates and their supporters to avoid provocative behavior.

On Friday night, before official results emerged, Mousavi had claimed to be the winner. But on Saturday it soon became clear that Ahmadinejad was set for another term in office.