AP/2011-02-28 - Iran's top diplomat says there's no comparison between the popular uprisings roiling the Arab world and recent unrest in Iran.

Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says Iran has only experienced a few "manipulated protests, while mass movements in the countries in the region are authentic, popular and people's movements."

Speaking to several reporters in Geneva on Monday, he said: "There is absolutely no comparison between what is happening in the countries in the region and what has happened in Iran in a few incidents."

The protests that swept Iran after its disputed June 2009 presidential election grew into a larger movement opposed to Iran's ruling system. Hundreds of thousands peacefully took to the streets but a heavy military crackdown crushed the protests.