Iran council asks for more time for vote complaints

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's top legislative body urged Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday to extend the deadline to receive complaints of defeated presidential candidates, state television reported.

"We are urging you to allow us to extend the deadline to receive further complaints five more days," the Guardian Council said in a letter.

The Guardian Council has rejected demands for a rerun from two losing candidates, former prime minister Mousavi and pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi.

The legislative body said the extended deadline would pave the ground for removing any ambiguities over the disputed vote.

"As the legal deadline to review the complaints ends on Wednesday, extending the deadline will help the council to remove ambiguities," the letter said.

Ten days of protest against elections that confirmed hardline anti-Western President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in office have produced unprecedented protests and a public split in the Islamic establishment.

Defeated candidates accuse the authorities of rigging the election and have demanded a rerun.

Moderate cleric Karoubi, defeated in the June 12 poll, signaled on Tuesday opposition would continue, calling on Iranians to hold ceremonies on Thursday to mourn those killed at protests.

At least 10 were killed in the worst violence on Saturday, and about seven more early last week.

(Reporting by Hossein Jaseb; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Jon Hemming)