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The sample was recounted before state television cameras to make the process seem transparent, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Guardian Council, which oversees Iran's elections, was supposed to certify presidential election results last week, but extended the deadline to allow election fraud claims to be filed. Ahmadinejad was declared the landslide winner June 12 over his nearest challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi.

The council's decision was announced hours after the panel said it would again extend the deadline for considering complaints of vote rigging.

"The outcome of today's meeting with the representative of Mr. Mousavi, as one of the protesting candidates, was not positive", council spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodai said on state television.

On his Facebook page, Mousavi said he wasn't under house arrest.

"He is not about to leave the country", the posting said. "He is under strong pressure to end this. But he always said he will stand for the people's will, to the end. He is from and with the people."

Another presidential contender, Mehdi Karroubi, has called for a nullification of the vote, while a third candidate, Mohsen Rezai, declined to take part in the vote recount.

Asked about the council's actions, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the country's leaders have a "huge credibility gap" with their citizens.

"I don't think that's going to disappear by any finding of a limited review of a relatively small number of ballots", she said.

Clinton said the international community would have to see how events unfolded, reiterating the administration's position of supporting "the fundamental values of the people's voices being heard (and) their votes being counted."

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