Top Iranian official Hashemi Rafsanjani stated June 28, 2009 that the post-election riots were a conspiracy by clandestine forces wanting to create a rift between the Iranian people and the regime and to discredit the regime in the eyes of the people.
He condoned the extension granted by Supreme Leader Khamenei to the Guardian Council to examine the candidates' complaints, and called on the Council to resolve the matter in cooperation with the candidates.
The Iranian daily Vatan-e Emrouz, associated with the Ahmadinejad government, claimed that the British embassy in Teheran had been transformed into a venue for briefing rioters, and that its eight employees who had been arrested on June 27 had been responsible for organizing riots.
The daily also claimed that, in early June 2009, Obama's special advisor on Iran, Dennis Ross, had contacted the "forces of the riot project" and instructed them to act immediately after the elections, irrespective of the results, in order to topple the regime.
Source: ILNA, Iran, June 28, 2009; Vatan-e Emrouz, Iran, June 29, 2009
