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WASHINGTON, Feb 24: US President George Bush on Tuesday accused Iran of trying to "stifle" reformist political forces in the runup to last week's parliamentary elections, saying this undermined the validity of the vote.
"I am very disappointed in the recently disputed parliamentary elections in Iran," Mr Bush said in a statement. "The United States supports the Iranian people's aspirations to live in freedom, enjoy their God-given rights and determine their own destiny," said the US president.
That move "deprived many Iranians of the opportunity to freely choose their representatives," said Mr Bush. "I join many in Iran and around the world in condemning the Iranian regime's efforts to stifle freedom of speech - including the closing of two leading reformist newspapers - in the runup to the election.
"Such measures undermine the rule of law and are clear attempts to deny the Iranian people's desire to freely choose their leaders."
IRAN HITS BACK: Iran angrily hit back at international criticism of its polls, with foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi saying complaints from the United States and the European Union that the polls were "flawed" amounted to "unacceptable and interventionist comments".
He said the critics were "not informed of the realities and the complexities of developments underway in Iran". And Gholam-Ali Hadad-Adel, head of the conservative Builders of an Islamic Iran - a right-wing bloc poised to take all of Tehran's seats - told reporters the EU should avoid making "premature judgments".
Mr Hadad-Adel also pledged his party would not reverse the reforms implemented by the previous pro-reform parliament and President Mohammad Khatami, although it would seek some changes.
"We don't want to put the clock back on reforms, we just want to adjust the clock," he said. "We have certain complaints over things that have been done in the name of reforms and we will try to correct them." -AFP
