Khatami stands by defiant MPs

"The president stated that the rejection of candidacies was illegal and not acceptable," reformist MP Ahmad Borghani said after closed-door talks with Khatami.

"The president emphasised what he said on Tuesday, and said he was optimistic that the efforts of him and the Majlis president Mehdi Karoubi, would prevail," the MP told reporters.

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Late Tuesday, Khatami laid down the gauntlet to the conservative-run Guardians Council, an unelected 12-member watchdog that vets legislation and screens all candidates for public office.

"We have to remain firm. If one day we are asked to leave, then we will all leave, together," the usually mild-mannered president warned. The departure of the reformist government, in place after reformists have scooped up massive majorities in past elections, could plunge Iran into political chaos and send it back into international isolation.

The Council is seeking to disqualify nearly half of the 8,000 people hoping to stand for parliament on February 20. Most are reformists, among them some 80 who currently sit in the Majlis.

And in what appeared to be an effort to focus the protest movement and ease the risk of violence, Khatami appealed to MPs the end their four-day-old sit-in at the Majlis building.