Verdict expected on Iran election

The Mousavi camp wants the vote annulled over alleged fraud

Iran's powerful Guardian Council is due to give its verdict on the result of the disputed presidential election, two weeks after the poll was held.

Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has refused to support the electoral authority's plan for a partial recount.

Mr Mousavi wants a re-run of the vote, but said on Saturday that he would accept a review by an independent body.

However the Guardian Council has already backed President Ahmadinejad's re-election as a fair result.

On Friday it said the presidential election was the "healthiest" held since the Iranian revolution in 1979.

Some 17 people are thought to have died in street protests in the past two weeks, and Tehran has imposed severe restrictions on journalists, blogs and other media.

Major fracture

Although President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was almost invisible when Tehran's streets were full of demonstrators, he is now out in public sounding very confident, says the BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Tehran.

IRAN UNREST 12 June Presidential election saw incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected with 63% of vote Main challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi called for result to be annulled for electoral fraud Street protests saw at least 17 people killed and foreign media restricted Q&A: Election aftermath How Iran is ruled Who's who in Iran Iran: Send your questions

He has blamed foreigners for inciting violence in Tehran, and on Saturday lectured US President Barack Obama for denouncing as "outrageous" the violence used to suppress protests.

Behind President Ahmadinejad stands the Revolutionary Guard, whose regular forces and Basij militia have regained control of the streets for him, our correspondent says.

Human Rights Watch, a New York-based pressure group, has accused the militia of carrying out "brutal" night-time raids, destroying property in private homes and beating civilians.

The group said the raids were an attempt to stop the nightly chants against the government that resonate from the rooftops and balconies of Tehran in recent days.

It also said satellite dishes were being confiscated to stop people from watching foreign news.

Although everyday life is returning to the capital, the election has opened up a major fracture in the elite that may not heal, according to the BBC's Jeremy Bowen.