France, Sweden and Finland summon Iran's ambassadors to their countries a day after Iran criticized some western countries for interfering in its internal affairs.

France summoned the Iranian ambassador for the second time in eight days to condemn what it calls 'brutal repression' of protestors, said foreign ministry spokesman Frederic Desagneaux.

Iran has become the scene of street rallies since the re-election of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the victor of presidential election last week. His main rivals Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have rejected the result as fraudulent and demanded a re-run.

Iran has sharply slammed recent remarks by top US and some European officials, particularly Britain, as a clear interference in Iran's internal affairs. Tehran has summoned several European ambassadors so far to protest their countries' support of 'illegal rallies'. Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has called for a revision in Tehran-London ties.

Sweden and Finland also summoned the Iranian envoys on Tuesday to express 'serious concerns' about the latest developments in Iran. Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb called for a recount of votes in the presidential election.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also said on Tuesday he was concerned about the situation in Iran and added, “We have seen violence that we have to condemn”.

Washington's latest comment on street rallies in Iran came on Tuesday, when White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the protests have led to the 'beginnings of change in Iran'. President Barack Obama is expected to address the issue at a press conference later on Tuesday.

Abbas-Ali Kadkhodyi, the Guardian Council's spokesman, on Monday ruled out the possibility of nullifying the June 12 election, saying there had been no record of any major irregularity.

Sweden, which will take over the rotating presidency of the European Union on July 1 from the Czech Republic, summoned Iran's representative in Prague on Monday and called on other EU countries to do the same.

AKM/DT