Tehran, September 11: Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on the opposition Friday to return to the political fold or face confrontation.
“It is even useful to have critics in the country with different political standpoints and tastes, but all this should be within the framework of the establishment, revolution and Islam,” Khamenei said at Friday prayers in Tehran.
“Those who challenge the basis of the establishment or the people’s and national security will be confronted,” said Khamenei, who under Iran’s constitution has the final say on all state affairs.
“There will be a very harsh reply if the sword is drawn against the establishment,” Khamenei warned.
Opposition groups in Iran have protested the results of the June elections, which saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected. They said fraud marred the vote.
—–Agencies