MOSCOW, June 16 (RIA Novosti) - Iran's leading judges and clerics have ordered a recount of last Friday's election, amid ongoing protests against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial victory, the official IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.
Several people have died and dozens have been arrested in violent street protests in the capital, Tehran, since Saturday.
A spokesman for Guardian Council, which oversees elections, told IRNA that council members had met with opposition leaders, and asked them to clarify which regions need to be recounted.
However, Ahmadinejad's main challenger in the election, moderate reformer Mir Hossein Mousavi, is widely expected to turn down the offer, insisting on a full election re-run.
Iran's state-run Press TV quoted Iranian authorities as saying on Tuesday they had arrested the "main agents" in the street riots, many of whom were in possession of firearms and explosives. The number of detainees has not been disclosed
The country's Interior Ministry earlier banned street rallies, warning that live ammunition could be used against protestors.
Seven people were killed in Tehran overnight when shots were fired into a group of protesters, the state-run Payam radio reported. The protesters were shot during an attempt to attack a military compound close to Azadi Square and "vandalize public property."
Press TV reported, however, that as the crowd was beginning to disperse in the evening after a peaceful rally, unidentified gunmen fired shots into the crowd. It added that the shooters were not in uniform.
