Iran’s Ruling Cleric Warns of Bloodshed if Protests Persist

[efoods]TEHRAN — In his first public response to days of mass protests, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sternly warned opposition supporters on Friday to stay off the streets and raised the prospect of violence if their defiant, vast demonstrations continued.

Sharply increasing the level of confrontation, he said that opposition leaders would be “responsible for bloodshed and chaos” if they did not stop further rallies in protest of last week’s disputed presidential election. He called for all sides to halt any violence.

He denied the opposition’s accusations that the vote was rigged, praising the officially declared landslide for the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as an “epic moment that became a historic moment.” Mr. Ahmadinejad was shown in photographs listening quietly in the audience.

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