Ahmadinejad tells U.S., Britain to stop interfering in Iran's affairs

Last update - 16:24 21/06/2009

By Reuters

Tags: UK, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the United States and Britain on Sunday to stop interfering in the Islamic Republic's internal affairs after its June 12 presidential election, the ISNA news agency said.

Many Western countries and rights groups have criticized the election, which was won by Ahmadinejad according to official figures, and its aftermath. His main opponent Mirhossein Mousavi says the vote was rigged. The government denies the charge.

"Definitely by hasty remarks you will not be placed in the circle of friendship with the Iranian nation. Therefore I advise you to correct your interfering stances," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in a meeting with clerics and scholars.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has nontheless urged the international community to pursue dialogue with Iran's leaders, a French

newspaper reported Sunday,.

Kouchner was quoted by Journal du Dimanche as saying that while Iran's protesters are calling for international support, "this doesn't mean we will settle the problem in place of the Iranians."

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has been among the most vocal international critics of the Iranian leadership's handling of the weeklong protests, calling it "brutal and totally disproportionate."

French demonstrators have rallied in Paris in solidarity with the Iranian

protesters. Another demonstration was planned Sunday, including prominent

political and cultural figures demanding the release of those arrested in Iran and freedom for journalists covering the events.

Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, directed his remarks Sunday at U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, ISNA said.

Obama, who has been trying to mend ties with Iran since taking office in January, has urged Tehran to "stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people".

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement, "I reject categorically the idea that the protesters in Iran are manipulated or motivated by foreign countries."

Meanwhile, Iran has also decided to expel the BBC's correspondent in Tehran and he has been given 24 hours to leave, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Sunday.

"Jon Leyne will have to leave Iran within the course of the next 24 hours under the charges of dispatching fabricated news and reports, ignoring neutrality in news, supporting rioters and trampling the Iranian nation's rights," Fars said, without giving a source.

The BBC in London confirmed that Iran asked its Teheran Correspondent to leave.

"With regret, Jon Leyne, the BBC's permananent correspondent in Tehran, has been asked to leave by the Iranian authorities," the British broadcaster said in a brief statement. "The BBC office remains open."

Also on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Iranian leadership must allow peaceful protests and recount votes.

Ahmadinejad said Western countries wanted to belittle Iran's position after the election but that they had made a mistake.

"Definitely, recent events will add to the Islamic Republic of Iran's greatness and might," Ahmadinejad said.

In an address to foreign diplomats in Tehran broadcast live on state television, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki sharply criticized Britain's "interfering remarks" about the election and also hit out at Germany and France.

"We are really sorry to see that the goverment of Britain did not learn ... that such measures will bring more hatred from nations towards the policies of that country," Mottaki said.

Press TV, which translated his comments, said he spoke of Britain's "sinister designs" and also denounced France's "irresponsible remarks".

The broadcast showed envoys including Australia's and Finland's ambassadors, but it was not immediately clear whether their British counterpart was also in the audience.

Parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani separately called for ties with Britain, France and Germany to be reconsidered in view of their "shameful" statements on the vote, state radio said.

Mottaki said Iran had noticed "some newcomers" coming to the country from Britain in the weeks leading up to the election.

"They were elements affiliated to the intelligence apparatus of Britain," he said. "They wanted to come here to see, to have certain effects."

On Friday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also attacked what he called interference by foreign powers who had questioned the election result, saying Iran's enemies were trying to undermine the legitimacy of its Islamic establishment.

The United States and Western allies suspect Iran is seeking to develop nuclear bombs. Iran rejects the charge