Iranian cleric calls for clearer laws

TEHRAN, July 11 (UPI) -- One of Iran's senior clerics said Friday laws on campaigning and elections need to be made more specific and rules need to be set to avoid future "tensions."

Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani spoke to worshippers in Tehran during Friday prayers, the Los Angeles Times reported. He said the disputed June 12 presidential election and the debates and campaign that preceded it should be examined.

"If those issues are mentioned in the law, many of these tensions will be removed," he said.

The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, maintains that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a decisive victory, defeating Mir Hossein Mousavi by a 2-1 margin. Mousavi and his supporters say the official vote count was rigged, citing the large margins claimed for Ahmadinejad throughout the country and polls showing a closer race.

Several thousand people mounted a protest Thursday in Tehran on the 10th anniversary of a violent clash between students and police.