Iran state TV says clerics cancel rally

Iran's news via Los Angeles
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EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
By Dominic Evans and Fredrik Dahl
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's state broadcaster said a group of moderate clerics had called off a planned protest rally in Tehran on Saturday against disputed election results because no permission had been granted.
The announcement, hours before the rally was due to go ahead at 4 p.m. (7:30 a.m. EDT), contradicted a statement from an aide to one of the defeated election candidates who earlier said the rally would go ahead.
"The demonstration plan has not been canceled and accordingly it must be held this afternoon," said the aide to liberal cleric Mehdi Karoubi, a day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded an end to street protests.
Khamenei issued a strong warning on Friday to leaders of demonstrations that they would be responsible for any bloodshed if protests continued against the June 12 vote, which he said was fairly won by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
His words hinted at a future crackdown by authorities on rallies after the election, which Ahmadinejad's main challenger Mirhossein Mousavi says was rigged. Mousavi and Karoubi have called for the poll to be annulled.
Khamenei's warning was reinforced by a senior police commander who said that "beginning today any gathering critical of the election would be illegal and police will deal with it firmly and with determination."
Mousavi, Karoubi and the third defeated candidate Mohsen Rezaie were invited to a special session of Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, which has said it could recount disputed ballot boxes but ruled out a fresh election.
At their last rally in Tehran on Thursday, Mousavi supporters held banners saying they would gather again two days later at around 4 p.m. But an ally of Mousavi said the moderate politician had not called for people to take to the streets on Saturday or Sunday.
His supporters may decide to show up anyway, as they did in their tens of thousands last Tuesday despite a call by Mousavi for them to stay home. The protests have been the most widespread in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
"If there is any bloodshed, leaders of the protests will be held directly responsible," the white-bearded Khamenei told huge crowds thronging Tehran University for Friday prayers.
State media have reported seven or eight people killed in unrest since the election outcome was published on June 13, prompting Mousavi's supporters to hold mass rallies in Tehran, with demonstrations reported in several Iranian cities.
Scores of reformists have been arrested and authorities have cracked down on foreign and domestic media.
President Barack Obama condemned the violence carried out by security forces and believed Iranians should be free to protest, his spokesman said on Friday after Khamenei's speech, sharpening the White House's rhetoric over the post-election events.
In a sign of defiance, Mousavi backers took to Tehran rooftops after nightfall on Friday to shout Allahu Akbar (God is greatest), an echo of tactics in the 1979 Islamic revolution. Continued...
Source: Reuters