Mousavi says he will continue fight

TEHRAN, June 25 (UPI) -- Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi told his supporters Thursday he plans to continue the fight against the "election fraudsters."

In a statement published on his Web site, Mousavi criticized government controlled broadcasters and news agencies for blaming recent street violence and demonstrations on the United States and Britain. He accused Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, of acting against the country by becoming a partisan supporter of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Los Angeles Times reported. The statement came after days when Mousavi has said little about the street protests.

"I am not only prepared to respond to all these allegations but am ready to show how election fraudsters joined those who are truly behind the recent riots and shed the blood of people," he said. "I am not prepared to give up under the pressure of threats or personal interest."

At least some of Mousavi's statement apparently was presented Wednesday in remarks to a group of social scientists, the Times said. His audience was later arrested.

Khamenei said Wednesday the official election results, which showed Ahmadinejad defeating Moussavi 2-1, will stand.