Iranian state-run newspaper accuses Moussavi, Khatami of treason

Tehran - The chief editor of Iran's state-run newspaper Kayhan accused opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi and former president Mohammad Khatami of treason Saturday. 'The two main protagonists Moussavi and Khatami should face an open trial for their clear treason (against Iran's Islamic establishment),' Hossein Shariatmadari wrote in his column. Moussavi and Khatami accuse the government and the constitutional watchdog Guardian Council, also in charge of reviewing the election results, of fraud in the June 12 presidential poll that led to the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The newspaper editor accused Moussavi of being an agent of the United States, allegedly following plots of the US, European Union and Israel against Iran. Shariatmadari, whose paper supports Ahmadinejad, also held Moussavi responsible for the killings during the post-election protest demonstrations last month. According to official statistics, 20 people among demonstrators and the pro-Ahmadinejad Basij militia were killed in the unrest. 'The party that Moussavi and his circle plan to establish would be illegal and should therefore be named the fifth column of the enemy,' Shariatmadari said. Guardian Council head Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said at the Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran that the country's opposition led by Moussavi was acting like dissidents. 'They (the opposition) neither acknowledge the laws nor those in charge of implementing the laws, so what are they after? Isn't this approach confronting the whole governing system?' Jannati said. 'They should all go and ask for God's forgiveness,' added Jannati, who is a strong supporter of the president.