The Iranian Embassy in the Philippines has called for sobriety in the wake of violence in Iran following protests of alleged fraud in the recent elections in the Middle Eastern country.

In a statement, the Embassy urged protesting candidates to go through the legal channels under their Constitution to resolve their electoral complaints, instead of taking to the streets and rioting in Tehran which, resulted in deaths and damage to banks, public transport, mosques, homes and shops.

The Iranian Embassy clarified that safeguards such as multi-layered election supervision have been set in place prior to the polls to minimize the possibility of fraud violations.

“The Guardian Council is the competent legal resource to supervise the elections and study the complaints of the candidates. Therefore, the only competent and legal resource to revive the rights of the citizenry, is reference to the law instead of encouraging violent approaches which are in opposition to the spirit of the Constitution and cause instability and take peace and tranquility away from the society and the people,” the Embassy said.

It also criticized the intentions of those who are trying to fuel instability in their country, saying that the people should first understand the motives of media and foreign officials on questioning the poll results as this may be tainted by politics.

“This is a kind of insult to the intelligence of the people of Iran and kind of overt interference in the internal affairs of other countries which is against the principles of democracy and known international norms,” they said.

“85 percent participation by the electorate in the polls is a symbol of interest and the will of Iranian citizens to effect and participate in the political fate and he future of their country.”

The Embassy reported that based on the law of security, the rioters who set fire to and destroyed public properties and attacked defenseless citizens have been dealt with in accordance with the law and with Islamic compassion.

The Guardian Council has also extended the period of investigation as the three protesting candidates submitted their complaints to the Guardian Council.

Prior to the elections, a campaign office of incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, was set afire in Qum.