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As Iran continues its efforts to cope with post-election unrest, Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the country will deal with the crisis under the law while relying on national unity.

The Leader said Sunday that legal measures were the only solution to the issues that the country has been facing since the 10th presidential elections on June 12.

“The people\'s emotions, especially that of the youth, must not be toyed with and they should not be pitted against one another as the Iranian nation, regardless of the differences of opinion, is a united nation that has good relations with the [Islamic] establishment.”

Ayatollah Khamenei went on to urge political parties not to play with one another\'s feelings and said, “If the nation and political elite are united in heart and mind, the incitement of international traitors and oppressive politicians will be ineffective.”

The Leader\'s remarks came after certain European countries and the US condemned the measures taken by the Tehran government to restore stability in the country following the election, which saw incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad win by a landslide.

“They express their opinions about Iran in a manner that one would think all their other problems have been resolved and only the Iranian problem remains,” said Ayatollah Khamenei.

“However, what they do not understand is that wherever they politically set foot in becomes tainted in the eyes of the Iranian nation.”

“Their support will only have a negative effect as the Iranian nation knows during the eight-year sacred defense [the Iraq-Iran war] when their homes were bombarded and destroyed by missiles and chemical weapons were used against them, these governments showed no concern and [instead] aided the enemy of the Iranian nation.”

Pointing to the crimes committed by the US and certain European countries against the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Palestine, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that their “concern and show of humanitarianism is not befitting of these governments and when they voice support for the Iranian nation and certain figures, their intentions are clear and the people are well aware of them.”
Iran\'s Intelligence Minister has dismissed claims of vote-rigging in the presidential election, blaming the US and Israel for the spread of such rumors among the people.

\"I announce that no organized rigging which could affect the result of the election has taken place,\" Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei said in an interview with IRIB\'s Channel Two on Sunday night.

He said the nation\'s enemies conspired several months before the presidential election to stir unrest in the country and dissuade the Iranians from voting.

\"Americans and Zionists sought to destabilize Iran ... they were upset with a stabilized and secure Iran ... even months before the election they started to talk about the possibility of vote-rigging in the election and they continued the course following the vote,\" Ejei said.

He said the Iranian intelligence services were aware of US and Israeli plots to mar the election months before the vote, adding that Iran foiled some assassination attempts masterminded by Washington and Tel Aviv.

Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of the presidential election with almost two-thirds of the votes.

The announcement triggered opposition rallies in protest at the result with defeated candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi calling for the result to be annulled.

Ejei took a swipe at Mousavi, saying his demand for holding the election anew would undermine the credibility of the electoral system.

The three defeated candidates -- Mousavi, Karroubi and Mohsen Rezaei -- have lodged more than 600 alleged \'irregularities\' with the electoral watchdog, the Guardian Council.

Mousavi and Karroubi believe these irregularities are enough for the election results to be annulled.

However, the head of Iran\'s Electoral Office, Kamran Daneshjou, has criticized the complaints filed by the defeated presidential candidates for being \'too general\'. The Guardian Council has also stressed that there were no \'major\' irregularities in the presidential election.