"My interpretation from His Holiness' remarks did not correspond to what he really said, and I apologize from Him for that and I hope He will accept my apology," the official said.
"My interpretation of His statements was that he had called for direct UN monitoring of Iraq's upcoming elections during a meeting with Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq Jeanine Antoinette Plasschaertm," he said, noting that while it was not the case and the Grand Ayatollah meant "serious supervision in coordination with relevant section in the UN board".
"The statement by Ayatollah Sistani's Office does not refer to UN supervision of elections; rather it speaks of coordination of observance with UN rules, meaning that observation is conducted solely by Iraqis. However, the characteristics of the observers, as well as the rules applied in holding the elections should correspond to the UN rules, so that there will be no room for any objection from some relevant groups to the validity of the elections," Shariatmadari said.
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