Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi urged his supporters to "continue legal protests," a statement posted on the website of his banned newspaper Kalemeh Sabz said on Thursday.

"The continuation of protests within the framework of the law and according to the rules and principles of Islamic Revolution is the main strategy which will guarantee the achievement of your goals," the statement quoted Mousavi as saying.

He also stressed that the protests should be carried out by "keeping peace and avoiding tension."

"I will not abandon...the right of Iranian people... (or) leave the scene ...because of personal interests and the fear of threats," he maintained.

Earlier on Thursday Mousavi said that he is under pressure to abandon his demand for the cancellation of the country’s disputed presidential vote result.

"The recent pressure on me is to make me abandon my stance overthe cancellation of the election," Mousavi said in an earlier statement on his website.

He made the remarks in a meeting with some socialists to study Iran's post-election situation.

"Anyway, the government, with the current situation of affairs, will face the crisis of legitimacy," he added.

Mousavi, who lost to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June 12 presidential election according to official results, has complained of widespread irregularities.

On June 13, Iran's Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said Ahmadinejad won 62.63 percent of the total ballots, while his main rival Mousavi got 33.75 percent.

The other two candidates, former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi and former Revolutionary Guards Chief Mohsen Rezaei, each got less than 2 percent of the total ballots.

After the official declaration, all the three defeated candidates filed complaints over irregularities in the election, while Mousavi and Karroubi have demanded an annulment of the election.

Rezaei withdrew his complaint to the Guardian Council over presidential election results on Wednesday.

Source: Xinhua