Iran's Intelligence Minister Mohseni Ejei said that the United States and Israel were behind Iran's vote-rigging claims which had escalated unrest in the country, local satellite Press TV reported on Monday.
  
"Americans and Zionists sought to destabilize Iran ... they were upset with a stabilized and secure Iran," Ejei was quoted as saying, Xinhua reported.
  
The nation's enemies conspired several months before the presidential election to stir unrest in the country and dissuade the Iranians from voting, he said in an interview with state TV on Sunday night.
  
Dismissing the claims of vote-rigging in Iran's presidential election, Ejei added that "I announce that no organized rigging which could affect the result of the election has taken place."
  
Following the complaints over irregularities and demands of annulment of the election by the two defeated candidates, Mir- Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, Iran's Guardians Council, the top legislative body, agreed to recount a random 10 percent of the votes.
  
Iran started a partial recount of the June 12 presidential election votes on Monday, the result of which would be declared within 24 hours.
  
On June 13, Iran's Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won 62.63 percent of the total ballots, while his main rival Mousavi got 33.75 percent.
  
The other two candidates -- Karroubi and former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezaei -- got less than 2 percent of the total ballots, he said.
  
The disputed election has caused large scale demonstrations in the country.