Iran hardliners urge legal action against Mousavi

By Hossein Jaseb

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian hardliners pressed on Thursday for legal action against moderate leaders accused of inciting post-election turmoil that has dimmed Western hopes of engaging Tehran on its disputed nuclear program.

"Those who hold illegal rallies and gatherings should be legally pursued," parliament member Mohammad Taghi Rahbar was quoted as saying by the hardline Javan newspaper.

It said he was among several lawmakers preparing to write to the judiciary complaining about defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi's activities after the disputed June 12 election.

The student branch of the pro-government Basij militia, which helped police suppress street protests after the vote, has also urged the attorney-general to take Mousavi to court.

The authorities have blamed Mousavi, a moderate former prime minister, for last month's violence, in which at least 20 people were killed. Mousavi, who says the poll was rigged in favor of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, rejects the charge.

The unrest has posed a dilemma for Western powers torn between sympathy for the protesters and a desire to keep alive chances for dialogue on what they suspect is an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Iran denies it is seeking to make bombs.

In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she wanted next week's Group of Eight summit to send a strong signal to Iran, without forfeiting possible talks on the nuclear issue.

G8 leaders will meet in Italy on July 8-10, a month after Ahmadinejad was re-elected in a vote his opponents have denounced as a fraud. Tehran has cracked down on protesters, jailing many and accusing the West of fomenting unrest.

HUMAN RIGHTS

"I hope the meeting sends a strong message of unity, a united message that the right to demonstrate and human rights cannot be separated and that they apply to Iran," Merkel said.

"I strongly support President (Barack) Obama's offer to Iran of direct talks. We will accompany this in a united way. We cannot drop the issue of a nuclear-armed Iran just because of the current situation. That would be completely wrong."

Iranian officials deny the election was rigged, saying it was the nation's "healthiest" since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The authorities have portrayed the unrest as the work of local subversives and foreign powers, especially Britain.

Two out of nine Iranian staffers at the British embassy who were detained on Sunday remain in custody.

"The leadership in Iran must know that if they choose a path of reason, then we want Iran to develop prosperously," Merkel told the Bundestag lower house of parliament.