Iran's supreme leader says last week's election was above board and that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory was "definitive."
Addressing a crowd at Tehran University during Friday prayers, the Ayatollah Khamenei dismissed vote-rigging charges and asked that those who take exception with the results use the proper legal avenues to do so. He did not call for a new vote.
According to CNN, he also criticized the numerous street protests by Moussavi supporters and said those who deomnstrated violently would be held accountable.
Discussing the 24 million vote difference, the Ayatollah had this to say:
"Eleven million votes difference? Sometimes there's a margin of 100,000, 200,000, or 1 million maximum. Then one can doubt maybe there has been some rigging or manipulation or irregularities," Khamenei said.
"But there's a difference of 11 million votes. How can vote rigging happen?"
He went on to say:
"The 10th presidential election was actually a great show in which people indicated their responsibility towards the destiny of their country. It was a great manifestation of people's participation in the affairs of their country. It depicted very well people's solidarity with their establishment."
Regarding the perception in th einternation media:
"Enemies try through various media, and some of those media belong to the Zionists, ill-wishers. They try to make believe in those media that there is a fight between supporters of the Islamic establishment and the opposition, no that's not true. They have no right to say that. That's not true."
Speaking of the United States in particular, the Ayatollah said the President Obama had sent mixed signals, praising the street protests, yet also extending a peaceful hand toward the government.
"Which one should we believe?"