Iran spars with U.S. and Britain over election

By Fredrik Dahl

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran accused the United States of trying to destabilise it and sparked a new row with Britain on Sunday, underscoring the hardline leadership's efforts to blame post-election unrest on foreign powers rather than popular anger.

(Editors' note: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.)

Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei rejected allegations of vote-rigging in this month's presidential election, which unleashed the biggest street protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"I am announcing that no organised rigging which could affect the result of the election took place," he said.

"Americans and the Zionists (Israel) wanted to destabilise Iran ... Even months before the election they started to talk about the possibility of vote-rigging in Iran, and they continue this path after the election," the minister said.

Mohseni-Ejei said the United States and Britain wanted to carry out a "velvet revolution" in Iran but declared that this was impossible. "People are wise and they are very close to their system," he said.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband demanded the release of several local British embassy staff detained by Iran, and said his European Union colleagues had agreed to a "strong, collective response" to any such "harassment and intimidation" against EU missions.

He said Iranian accusations that embassy staff had helped foment unrest were "wholly without foundation."