Hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was heading for a landslidevictory in Iran's presidential election, while his main moderatechallenger denounced the results as "treason" and "dangerousmanipulation."
Preliminary results on Saturday showed PresidentAhmadinejad receiving nearly double the votes of reformist rival MirHossein Mousavi. The results give the incumbent 63 percent to about 34percent for Mr. Mousavi, a former Iranian prime minister.
Mr.Mousavi issued a statement saying he "strongly protested" what hedescribed as many violations in Friday's vote. He vowed not tosurrender to the "charade."
Security was tight throughout TehranSaturday as people waited for final results to be announced. Supporters of Mr. Mousavi briefly clashed with police in a Tehransquare.
The initial results surprised many analysts whopredicted a tight race between the incumbent president and Mr. Mousavi,with voters turning out to the polls in massive numbers Friday.
Electioncommission chief Kamran Daneshjou said turnout was "unprecedented." Officials predicted a turnout of 70 percent or more of Iran's 46million eligible voters. Officials extended voting hours toaccommodate long lines at polling stations.
Reformist clericMehdi Karroubi and conservative former Revolutionary Guards commanderMohsen Rezaei also competed in the poll, in which Iran's economy,nuclear program and foreign relations were said to play a key role.
Mr.Ahmadinejad's rivals have accused him of badly mismanaging the economyand tarnishing Iran's image, further isolating the country from theWest. The Iranian president has denied the Holocaust and called forIsrael to be wiped off the map.
Saturday, Israel's DeputyForeign Minister Danny Ayalon said the election results depicting Mr.Ahmadinejad's victory demonstrate that the "Iranian threat" has grown. Ayalon also said the international community must stop the nuclearprogram and terrorism coming from Iran.