IRAN halted the publication today of a reformist party newspaper after its defeated presidential candidate said he would refuse to recognise Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, its website said.

Former parliament speaker Medhi Karroubi said yesterday that the government emerging from the disputed June 12 election was not "legitimate'' after Mr Ahmadinejad's victory was certified by the nation's top electoral body.

"Last night, after Karroubi's statement was released, representatives of the Tehran prosecutor and the culture ministry prevented the publication of Etemad Melli newspaper,'' his Etemad Melli party said on its website.

"They wanted the statement censored and not published -- so the newspaper will not be published today,'' it said.

The newspaper is one of the few reformist publications to have survived a crackdown under Ahmadinejad's rule.

However, it chief editor Mohammad Ghoochani is among scores of reformist leaders and journalists detained in a crackdown by the authorities on opposition activists and protesters in the wake of the disputed election.

Iran warned the opposition on Tuesday it would not tolerate further protests after the official election watchdog, the Guardians Council, upheld Ahmadinejad's re-election despite complaints of widespread irregularities.

Source: The Australian