Mousavi Speaks Out

For the first time, Iranian opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi spoke out about being isolated and pressured by authorities to withdraw his challenge to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's contested presidential win. USA Today reports that 70 university professors were arrested on Wednesday night after visiting Mousavi. While Ahmadinejad took to State TV to rant against Obama, Mousavi released a statement through his official Web site on Thursday saying authorities had "completely restricted" him and expressing frustration with "recent pressures" to drop his political stance. Mousavi's message does not appear to be falling on deaf ears: Tehranian newspapers are reporting that only 105 of 290 Iran's parliament members attended Ahmadinejad's victory party on Tuesday. Among the high-profile abstainers was Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, an Ahmadinejad appointee and close ally of the supreme leader's.