TEHRAN: Iranian hard-liners pressed yesterday for legal action against moderate leaders accused of inciting postelection turmoil that has dimmed Western hopes of engaging Tehran on its disputed nuclear program.

“Those who hold illegal rallies and gatherings should be legally pursued,” Parliament member Mohammad Taghi Rahbar was quoted as saying by the Javan newspaper. It said he was among several lawmakers preparing to write to the judiciary complaining about defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi’s activities after the disputed June 12 election.

The student branch of the pro-government Basij militia, which helped police suppress street protests after the vote, has also urged the attorney-general to take Mousavi to court.

The authorities have blamed Mousavi, a former prime minister, for last month’s violence, in which at least 20 people were killed. Mousavi, who says the poll was rigged in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, rejects the charge.

The unrest has posed a dilemma for Western powers torn between sympathy for the protesters and a desire to keep alive chances for dialogue on what they suspect is an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Iran denies it is seeking to make bombs.

In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she wanted next week’s Group of Eight summit to send a strong signal to Iran, without forfeiting possible talks on the nuclear issue. G-8 leaders will meet in Italy on July 8-10, a month after Ahmadinejad was re-elected.

Iranian authorities have portrayed the unrest as the work of local subversives and foreign powers, especially Britain. Two out of nine Iranian staffers at the British Embassy who were detained Sunday remain in custody.

The European Union yesterday demanded that Iran release all detained British Embassy staff amid discussion of a British proposal for the bloc to jointly withdraw all 27 of its ambassadors from the country.

Recalling the diplomats would be an extraordinary move and a powerful signal of EU unity in the wake of Tehran’s crackdown. But punishing the regime too harshly also risks spoiling chances of making headway on the critical issue of Iran’s nuclear program.

¬