Iran's Supreme Ruler: Vote Not Rigged

In a sense, the Ayatollah was telling the protesters to "move on." He called the June 12 election a "definitive victory," effectively closing any chance for a new vote.

Opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has been calling for a new election. At this point, he has little choice in the matter. He has previously called for protests, but this is the "supreme leader" talking now.

Ayatoollah Ali Khamenei said the 11 million votes that separated Ahmadinejad from his top opponent, Mousavi, was proof positive of the legitimacy of the election. He said, "If the difference was 100,000 or 200,000 or 1 million, one may say fraud could happen. But how can one rig 11 million votes?"

He went further, blaming other countries such as the U.S. and U.K. for fomenting civil unrest, saying "American officials’ remarks about human rights and limitations on people are not acceptable because they have no idea about human rights after what they have done in Afghanistan and Iraq and other parts of the world. We do not need advice on human rights from them."

He doesn't know election fraud too well, now does he? Pro-Mousavi Web sites had announced no changes for a protest planned for 4 PM Saturday.