As post-election demonstrations continued in Iran yesterday, many local Iranian-Americans said they were skeptical that a fair election could be achieved.

"I was surprised by the scale of the response," said Amir Moghimi, a Carnegie Mellon University student who moved to the United States 2 1/2 years ago. "It's very exciting, it's scary, ... but I think it's good because it's in response to the biggest, most blatant cheating that's gone on there."

After incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of Friday's presidential elections by a 30 percent margin over popular reformist challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi, Iranians -- mostly young students -- poured into the streets, claiming that their votes were not counted and that the election was fixed. Historians have called the response the largest anti-government protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

According to official election results, Mr. Ahmadinejad won 62.6 percent of the vote. Mr. Mousavi won 33.75 percent and two other candidates, reformist Mehdi Karroubi and conservative Mohsen Rezaei received a combined 2.6 percent of the vote. More than 40 million people, roughly 85 percent of the voting population, cast votes in the election.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, about two hours after the election, announced that Ahmadinejad won. From the voter turnout, it seems like a total lie," said Davoud Esmaili, a biology student at the University of Pittsburgh. "How is it possible to count about 45 million votes in two hours, given the lack of computerized voting machines?"

Sorena Javadi, a graduate student at Pitt studying mechanical engineering, who has lived in the United States since 1998, raised the same concern. He and a few friends drove to Penn State University at State College, where an election site had been set up so Iranian-Americans could vote.

"By the time we got to the election site, we heard that Ahmadinejad won by a majority," said Mr. Javadi, who voted for Mr. Mousavi.

Most of the Iranian population, he added, was voting for change in this year's election.

"If you compare the number of people who participated in the last election, the numbers doubled this time. ... Those extra numbers wanted change," he said. "They didn't want Ahmadinejad."

At this point, however, there may not be enough information to support that claim, said Dr. Shahla Hosseini, a resident physician at UPMC in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation, who frequently travels to Iran.

"It's always possible that this was a valid election. People in the villages [where Ahmadinejad was popular] may have outnumbered people in the cities," she said. "I think that the people should have the right to demonstrate, ... and I also think there should be some kind of supporting evidence for what the protesters are doing."

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians gathered Monday in Tehran's Azadi Square to hear Mr. Mousavi speak, defying Mr. Ahmadinejad's claim that the elections were free and fair. In a stark reversal to his initial endorsement of the election outcome, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday called for a review of the results.

Yesterday, a day after a massive opposition rally ended in deadly clashes with pro-government militiamen, Iran's main electoral authority said it was prepared to conduct a limited recount of ballots at sites where candidates claim irregularities took place.

In the afternoon, the government organized a large rally in Tehran, as if to demonstrate it also can bring people into the streets. Thousands waved Iranian flags and pictures of the supreme leader, thrusting their fists into the air and cheering as speakers denounced "rioters" and urged Iranians to accept the results showing Mr. Ahmadinejad was re-elected in a landslide.

But shortly afterward, tens of thousands of Iranians took to Tehran's streets for a second day of mass demonstrations. Meanwhile, the government said employees of foreign media could only cover events it authorized and announced.

A spokesman for the Guardian Council, an unelected body of 12 clerics and Islamic law experts close to the supreme leader, did not rule out the possibility of canceling the election results, saying that is within the council's powers, although nullifying an election would be an unprecedented step.

Mr. Mousavi has called the election an "astonishing charade," and has demanded that it be canceled and held again. But, he also said Monday he believes that the council is not neutral and has already indicated support for Mr. Ahmadinejad.

Most local Iranian-Americans view the recount call with skepticism. "This is all talk," said Maggie Fazli, a real estate agent from Franklin Park, who has lived in the United States for 17 years. "If the people who are going to count the votes again are going to be Ahmadinejad or Khamenei's people, what's the difference?"

"It's encouraging," said Mr. Moghimi. "But some people are saying that it's just a time-biding tactic so people's emotions will die down."

Dr. Hosseini said she hopes that the inquiries will be conducted fairly, adding that, meantime, Iranians should not use violence when protesting. Indeed, recent reports have confirmed that seven Iranians were killed and a few others were injured during demonstrations Monday. "Flagrant displays of violence and starting fires -- I don't think that's necessarily the way to go about it," she said.

Amid the chaos in Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad flew to Russia yesterday to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a move many analysts view as a bid to win back legitimacy with world leaders.

"Ahmadinejad is totally downplaying the uproar. He's not acting like the president of everybody," said Dr. Hosseini. "Rather than saying 'You guys are just sore losers,' he should try to incorporate them under his presidency."