Iran Guards warn of "velvet revolution" bid in vote

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A senior official of Iran's Revolutionary Guards accused opponents of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of seeking to launch a "velvet revolution," in comments published on the Guards' web site on Wednesday.

The comments by Yadollah Javani, head of the Guards' political office, were likely to add to tension ahead of Friday's hard-fought presidential election, in which Ahmadinejad is facing a growing challenge from moderate politicians.

Thousands of supporters of former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, seen as Ahmadinejad's main challenger in the vote, have taken to the streets of Tehran nightly in the run-up to the election dressed in his green campaign color.

"The presence of supporters of Mirhossein Mousavi at the streets are part of the velvet revolution and they are trying, by launching a psychological media war, to announce themselves as winner of this election," Javani said, using a term used to describe the non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989.

"Using a specific color for the first time by a candidate in this election shows the start of a velvet revolution project," he was quoted as saying.

The web site said the interview was conducted by a weekly newspaper also published by the Guards, an elite force under the ultimate command of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has voiced backing for Ahmadinejad's government in the past.

Iran often accuses Western powers of seeking to undermine the Islamic state through a "soft" or "velvet revolution" with the help of intellectuals and others inside the country.

(Writing by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by )