As Iran tries to cope with the aftermath of its disputed presidential election, influential cleric and politician Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani puts forward proposals to end the post-vote "crisis."

Ayatollah Rafsanjani, who was leading the Friday prayers at Tehran University for the first time since Iran's presidential election, told thousands of people that ambiguities surrounding the June 12 presidential vote had broken the trust of Iranians in the establishment.

"Our key issue is to regain the trust which the people had and now to some extent is shattered," Rafsanjani said.

The official results of the vote, which saw millions casting their ballots after weeks of intense campaigning by four approved candidates, have been rejected by two of the hopefuls, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, and their supporters as fraudulent.

Rafsanjani, a two-time former president who heads both the top political arbitration body and the clerical body, criticized the government for its handling of the controversy over the election.

He suggested that failing to listen to the voice of those who are dissatisfied with the election's results had disrupted the national unity.

"Doubt has been created," he said. "There are two currents; one has no doubt and is moving ahead. And the other is a large portion of the wise people who say they have doubts. We need to take action to remove this doubt."

While pointing out that rebuilding the trust is not a straightforward task and cannot be achieved overnight, Rafsanjani suggested that the release of people who protested against the result of the vote could be the first step in restoring people's trust in the establishment.

"It is not necessary that in this situation people be jailed. Let them join their families."

Mousavi, who has emerged as the leader of the opposition, suffered a crushing defeat to the incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who was declared the victor with almost two-thirds of the votes.

Days of illegal -- and deadly at times -- street protests erupted as Mousavi and Karroubi demanded a re-run of the vote.

Ahmadinejad, who has hailed the June 12 poll as the "freest and healthiest" election in the world, has called on the opposition to drop its pre-vote mentality and work with his government to build the future of the country.

Iran's electoral watchdog, the Guardian Council, has also confirmed the vote results.

Rafsanjani, meanwhile, urged everyone to follow the rule of law when dealing with the post-election events or expressing opposition to the vote's results, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported.

"The Islamic Republic is not a ceremonial term," he said. "Should one of the two be tarnished, we will no longer have the Revolution."

Recalling the perspectives of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Revolution, on democracy, Rafsanjani urged the authorities to cherish the "the people's vote and opinion" as the most important aspect of the establishment.

He then criticized the pre- and post-election conduct of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and asked the state TV to take measures and pave the way for the process of trust building.

The powerful cleric also advocated for freedom of the press within legal boundaries.

"We should let our media write within the framework of the law and we should not impose restrictions on them," he said. "We should let our media even criticize us. Our security forces, our police and other organs have to guarantee such a climate for criticism."

He concluded the sermon by urging respect and sympathy for the opponents of the government and the families of those killed in the post-election violence.

At least 20 people died in the street protests.

Thousands of Mousavi supporters took to the streets after the prayers in a spontaneous demonstration, which prompted police to use tear gas to disperse the protesters.

MD/MD