UNITED NATIONS, June 15 (RIA Novosti) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged on Monday that the will of the Iranian people expressed during Friday's presidential election be respected.
Noting that he is closely following the situation in the Islamic Republic, Ban told journalists: "The position of me and the United Nations is that the genuine will of the Iranian people should be fully respected."
Tehran and other Iranian cities were swept by mass protests at the weekend over alleged vote fraud in the landslide reelection of the hardline president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Thousands of supporters of reformist challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi gathered on the streets of Tehran on Saturday for demonstrations that later turned violent, with rioters burning police motorcycles and smashing shop windows.
Mousavi's accusations of vote rigging will be examined by the Guardian Council, a top clerical body with wide responsibility for electoral issues.
