Vote Stands, Declares Iran Council

Iran's official Guardian Council has declared absolutely that the nation's controversial presidential election will stand, reports CNN. "If a major breach occurs in an election, the Guardian Council may annul the votes," said a spokesman. "Fortunately, we found no witness of major fraud or breach in the election. Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place."

He said any irregularities before the election were beyond the scope of the council.  The announcement, reported by Iran's government-funded Press TV today, appeared to contradict earlier statements by the council that votes cast in 50 cities were more than the total number of registered voters. Challenger Mir Hossein Moussavi was expected by many observers to win, but incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner by a landslide. (More Iran stories.)