Tehran's mayor has urged relevant Iranian officials to authorize peaceful opposition rallies, saying the public should have an outlet to express its opinions.

In a Tuesday interview with IRIB channel two, Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf said that legalizing street rallies would prevent 'saboteurs who draw weapons and kill people'.

Qalibaf drew a clear line between 'those protestors who had voted in the presidential election but had doubts about the result' and 'some saboteurs, taking advantage of the situation'.

Despite an official ban on any kind of gatherings, opposition rallies were held during the past week in protest at presidential election results, which declared incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner with almost two-thirds of votes.

Last Monday saw hundreds of thousands of protestors marching the streets of the capital. At least seven people were killed in Monday's rallies, which turned violent after protestors were attacked by people wearing plainclothes.

Iranian authorities also said the police killed at least 13 saboteurs during an 'illegal rally' on Saturday.

Tehran's mayor stressed that the 'use of force' was the wrong way to clarify public's doubts about the election results, calling all 'the supervisory and executive bodies in the government' as well as, 'the media and presidential candidates' to play a major role in resolving the issues.

Qalibaf also called on the Guardian Council to investigate the complaints lodged by the candidates, as stressed by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Ayatollah Khamenei agreed on Tuesday to extend for five days a June 24 deadline for the investigation of three candidates' complaints about the election.

AKM/MMN