Ahmadinejad to punish opposition

TEHRAN, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Judicial officials in Tehran should "decisively and mercilessly act" against opposition elements that orchestrated the post-election unrest, the president said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a speech before the sermon for Friday prayers called on authorities to punish those who threatened the regime in Tehran in the wake of the June 12 election, state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.

"I call upon security and judicial officials to decisively and mercilessly act against those who committed inhumane acts," he said.

Mir Hossein Mousavi, a defeated presidential challenger and former prime minister, led a vibrant opposition movement in the wake of the elections. Riot police and government-backed security services reacted with force as civil protests escalated to levels not seen since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Unverified reports in June said security forces injured or killed protesters during a raid on the dormitory at Tehran University. Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani at the time blamed elements in the Interior Ministry for the raid, though Ahmadinejad pointed to elements in the opposition movement.

"Attack on the university dorm and unethical measures taken place in the detention centers were parts of the enemy scenarios," he said. "The measures were carried out by those associated with the toppling movement."

Ahmadinejad did not mention any specific names during his pre-sermon speech.