Tehran/Berlin  - Mir-Hossein Moussavi, the presidential candidate defeated in last week's contested poll, has written a letter to Iran's Guardian Council on Saturday, saying that he believes the election was rigged in advance.

In the seven-page letter, made public as clashes were going on between police and protestors in Tehran, Moussavi said "I will continue my efforts to clarify the truth on the basis of the constitution and current laws, although the violations and planning of this disgusting move had been planned in advance."

The Guardian Council had offered to recount 10 per cent of votes randomly to prove the veracity of the poll.

Protestors on Saturday defied a stern injunction by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to stop the demonstrations, and turned out in Tehran and other cities. Police used tear-gas and water cannon to break up the protests, witnesses said. (dpa)