TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday renewed his attacks on his political opponents who have charged that his re-election was fraudulent.

Two days after his major opponent vowed to continue protests, Ahmadinejad told a news conference: "Those who directed the actions and knowingly sought to deliver a blow to the nation and the election should be held to account." The president has already called for the prosecution of opposition leaders over mass street protests in the capital and over plunging Iran into its worst crisis in three decades.

"One can't turn Tehran into a mess, beat people and damage cars," he said, "It is not acceptable that anyone who has sulked away from his mum goes and torches shops." Ahmadinejad also called for the prosecution of "infiltrators in law enforcement who have harmed (the Islamic regime) in a friendly disguise." Iranian authorities have come under fire over their handling of the protests, in which dozens have been killed and thousands arrested.

The authorities have faced further embarrassment by claims that some protestors were raped and tortured in custody.

The street protests died down after a crackdown but opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who came second in the June 12 poll, renewed fraud allegations on Saturday and called for continued civil disobedience.