伊朗选举结果引发骚乱

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Violent clashes erupt on the streets of Tehran. Supporters of moderate Mir-Hossein Mousavi became angry after incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner in the country's elections. The result has been fiercely disputed by Mousavi's supporters who claim he is the real winner. In Israel where Iran's uranium enrichment is seen as a direct threat to its existence, Sheila Dale says another four years of Ahmadinejad would just further divide East and West.

"Well, I'm not exactly happy about it. I think that it just shows all the more so that there is a continuing division between the East and the West. And for Israel, of course, it's not a good sign. Somewhere along the way, Israel is going to have to take steps whether or not the rest of the Western world agrees with Israel."

Last week, Israel said it had no plans to bomb Iran. Tehran meanwhile maintains its nuclear plant is purely to produce the country's energy. In Gaza, Iran's ally Hamas welcomed the results.

"The Western world should respect the democracy and the choice of the Iranian people. This is a democratic and free election. We hope that this new Iranian leadership will continue to support the Palestinian rights and its people and help us to end sanctions."

And there was more support for Iran's leader from neighboring Iraq.

"President Ahmadinejad deserves victory, and we hope that he will help us establish security in Iraq. We also hope he will put an end to the infiltration of terrorists and deny those who intend to harm our country. We wish him all the best."

Iran and Washington have had no official ties since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. But on Friday, the Obama administration said it would like to improve the countries' relations regardless of the election outcome.

Hayley Platt, Reuters.

Glossary [only for reference]

 erupt [intransitive]: if fighting, violence, noise etc erupts, it starts suddenly [= break out]

moderate: having opinions or beliefs, especially about politics, that are not extreme and that most people consider reasonable [≠ extreme]

incumbent president: the president at the present time

uranium enrichment: an activity to creat enriched uranium which is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation.

 all the more so: with more reason

the Western world: countries of the Western world are generally considered to share certain fundamental political ideologies, including those of liberal democracy, the rule of law, human rights and a high degree of gender equality.

 maintain [transitive]: say, to strongly express your belief that something is true [= claim]

purely: completely and only

put an end to: to cause to stop; terminate; finish

deny [transitive]: not allow, to refuse to allow someone to have or do something

infiltration: the act or process of infiltrating

all the best: best wishes

ties [usually plural]: a strong relationship between people, groups, or countries

Islamic Revolution: refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution.

regardless of: in spite of; without regard for