Friday prayers--after the sermon.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani did not say anything especially radical, but called for conciliation. But the method through which he did so involved speaking of the Khomeini revolution and sometimes emotionally, and how the vote of the people was the basis of the Republic-- (Via Juan Cole:)

He went on to add that Imam Khomeyni accorded great value to the participation of the people. He read out a note that he had prepared earlier, quoting Shiite Imam Ali.

He stressed Imam Khomeyni's insistence on the people's role at the beginning of the Revolution. He insisted that according to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, the vote of the people, including the leadership, is determined by the people.

Again huge chants were heard at 0935 GMT, when Rafsanjani insisted that he had been asked to keep his sermon short. In what can only be described as Rafsanjani speaking hurriedly, he insisted on the republicanism of the system.

He went on to add that when campaigning came to an end, a great lack of trust came about. He said that this may have been due to the bad performance of the state broadcaster, calling it a very bitter experience. He insisted that everyone was damaged by the post-election events.

I'm not an expert and I'm getting it third-hand. There seems to be a reminder of why there was a revolution, how people lost trust after this election, and that also, the state media's reporting shares a part of the blame for the bitterness (I would say because of the, um, apparent propaganda). In mentioning that he was asked to keep it short--? Sometimes mentioning such things means one has more one could say, but I don't know.

I lack the expertise to jist what impact the sermon was meant to have (for a good take on it, you want Reza Aslan.) But this demonstration followed:



And also notably, Mousavi was at the prayers. An eventful day, definitely.