Timeline of Iran election turmoil

A demonstrator wears the colours of leading opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who claims there was voting fraud in the election

Iran has been shaken by several days of protests as opposition supporters cry foul over presidential election results in the biggest popular upheaval since the 1979 revolution.

Here are the developments day-by-day:

TUESDAY 16 JUNE

The powerful Guardian Council announces it is ready to recount votes in areas where results are contested.

Earlier, the council ruled that results were only "provisional".

Iranian state radio says seven people were killed during the opposition demonstration on the previous evening. Opposition rallies continue.

Reports emerge that the unrest has spread to other cities, including Mashhad, Isfahan and Shiraz.

Much smaller protests in support of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is in Russia to attend a regional summit, are held outside the UK and French embassies in Tehran.

In Washington, President Barack Obama says the US should not "meddle" in Iran, but repeats his concern over scenes of violence.

Election recount mooted

How Iran is ruled

MONDAY 15 JUNE

Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi appears in public for the first time since the election at a mass rally in Tehran which attracts hundreds of thousands of people.

Riot police stand aside as protesters defy a ban to march, some shouting "death to the dictator".

Violence breaks out at the end of the rally outside the offices of a pro-government militia.

The Guardian Council says it has received complaints from Mr Mousavi and another candidate, Mohsen Rezai, and will issue a ruling within 10 days.

US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon express concern at the situation in Iran.

Obama's cautious reaction

New protests convulse Tehran

SUNDAY 14 JUNE

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says he has asked the powerful Guardian Council - the country's supreme legislative body - to investigate the allegations of vote-rigging.

Meanwhile, demonstrations continue with several violent confrontations between the security forces and anti-government demonstrators.

In contrast, tens of thousands of people attended a rally in Tehran to celebrate the re-election of Mr Ahmadinejad.

Reformist political groups in Iran say as many as 100 people - including the brother of the former president, Mohammad Khatami - were arrested during the night.

The Iranian authorities jam BBC Persian language broadcasts.

Bypassing Iran's firewalls

Reformists held after clashes

SATURDAY 13 JUNE

The interior ministry announces that Mr Ahmadinejad has won with 63% of the vote, against 34% for Mr Mousavi.

Turnout is said to have been a record 85%.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, describes the outcome as a real celebration and urges the opposition to accept the result.

OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 62.6% Mir Hossein Mousavi: 33.8% Mohsen Rezai: 1.7% Mehdi Karroubi 0.9% Turnout: 85% Source: Interior ministry Who's who in Iran

Mr Ahmadinejad's supporters take to the streets waving flags and sounding car horns.

But Mr Mousavi's supporters clash with police in Tehran in the worst disorder since student protests in 1999.

All three opposition candidates call for the election to be annulled and re-run.

The vote was "free and healthy", says Mr Ahmadinejad in a live address to the nation.

Result sparks street clashes

Poll hint at plausible vote

ELECTION DAY - FRIDAY 12 JUNE

More than 46 million eligible voters are invited to choose between four candidates in the presidential election.

Soon after the polls close the two leading candidates, Mir Hossein Mousavi and incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, claim victory.

Mr Mousavi alleges fraud as results begin to show a huge margin of victory for Mr Ahmadinejad.

Mousavi letter to supreme leader

Huge turnout in election