Iran Tensions Mount Like Vote Recount

Iran's supreme leader has ordered a partial recount of presidential election votes if required as thousands of protesters rallied for another day in Tehran.

In what appeared to be a first concession by authorities to the biggest street demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the election supervisory body to probe the vote-rigging claims.

"I am asking the Guardians Council and the interior ministry to examine the said issues so there is no doubt left," he said, state television reported.

"If the examination of the problems require recounting of some ballot boxes, it should be definitely done in the presence of the representatives of candiates so that everybody is assured."

Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the runaway winner after Friday's vote.

His opponent Mirhossein Mousavi then called for an annulment, claiming irregularities in the count.

But the powerful council rejected the plea, sparking political turmoil.

Mr Mousavi's supporters are outraged at what they see as a victory that has been stolen from them by fraud.

Some have used the internet messaging service Twitter to express their frustration, and Sky News Online has been following their updates to find out about the changing situation on the ground.

When asked by Sky News' US political analyst Jon-Christopher Bua whether the White House was also monitoring Twitter for information, press secretary Robert Gibbs said he would check - both with the White House and the National Security Council.

Supporters of Mr Mousavi said they planned to rally on Tuesday despite the deaths of seven people a day earlier on the fringes of a huge march through the streets of the capital, Tehran.

Video images have since been released of a man, believed to be a member of a pro-government militia, firing a machine gun from the window of a compound as crowds surround the building.

Dramatic footage showing Iran shooting


Corroboration of the claims has been prevented by an official ban on foreign media from covering such events.

Sky's foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall, in Tehran, said: "Most of the demonstrators have been peaceful, but it is clear there are some among them ready to make a fight of it.

"The crisis in this country is not just about the election. Behind the anger of the alleged vote theft lies something much deeper - frustration at living in a theocracy."

Iranian state television said on Tuesday the "main agents" in the post-election unrest had been arrested with explosives and guns.

Further protests would be a direct challenge to the authorities who have kept a tight grip on political dissent since the 1979 overthrow of the US-backed Shah after months of demonstrations.

Despite protests and upheaval in Iran, Mr Ahmadinejad has gone to Russia for talks on his first foreign trip since official results showed he secured a second four-year term.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which includes Russia and China, congratulated him on his win.

US President Barack Obama said the protests reflected the fact that many people in Iran were unhappy with their government's "antagonistic postures" towards other countries.

"There are people who want to see greater openness, greater debate, greater democracy," he said.

"I stand strongly with the universal principle that people's voices should be heard."