Mousavi predicts trouble for Ahmadinejad

TEHRAN, July 7 (UPI) -- Iran's new government will suffer because it lacks credibility and protests against it will go on, opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi says.

Appearing in public for the first time in nearly three weeks Monday, Mousavi did not call for street demonstrations against the disputed July 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but encouraged his backers to pursue change "within the framework of the law," The Washington Post reported.

The newspaper said Mousavi made the remarks in front of about 200 guests at the Iranian Academy of the Arts during a holiday commemorating the Shiite saint, Imam Ali.

A local journalist at the event quoted Mousavi as saying: "Though it might seem that the protests have become quieter, they will not end. This protest will continue," predicting "problems" for Ahmadinejad in his second term and adding, "The legitimacy of this government is questionable because people don't trust it. This makes the government weak inside even if it keeps up appearances."

Mousavi's comments came as supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei again criticized Western nations for "openly intervening" in Iran's affairs by criticizing its crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators, the Post said.