Police force Iran protest off streets

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The momentum of Iran's "green revolution" - triggered by allegations of electoral theft earlier this month - appeared to stall today, as thousands of plain clothes and uniformed security officials swamped Tehran, using tear gas and water cannon on a hard core of about 3,000 demonstrators.

The latest clashes on Tehran's streets came as defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi released a letter he had sent to the Guardian Council - Iran's top legislative body - insisting that the results of the election be annulled and claiming that a plan to rig the 12 June poll in favour of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been planned months in advance.

Eyewitnesses said that protesters who had tried to gather for demonstrations were beaten by police, who also fired warning shots into the air. Video footage showed scattered knots of protesters fleeing as tear gas canisters were fired amidst shouts of "Allahu Akbar" - God is Great, one of the calls adopted by the protesters.

In other places, witnesses described demonstrators holding their ground against motorbike-mounted members of the feared Basij militia.

Helicopters hovered over Tehran and the sound of sirens echoed through the streets as up to 60 injured demonstrators were taken to the Imam Khomeini hospital. Tehran's university campus - another focal point for the protesters - was also blocked off by lines of police. Supporters of Mousavi were rumoured to have set fire to a building in southern Tehran used by Ahmadinejad supporters.

"This is like [the revolution in] 1979," said one older man on the streets. "But it's more dangerous. People had money in 1979 to escape and to get by for months. Now they don't."

After stern warnings from Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during Friday prayers and amid a climate of growing fear in Iran, the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands who had earlier marched against what they claimed has been the rigging of elections to favour Ahmadinejad, appeared to have remained at home. Khamenei warned opposition leaders to end street protests or be held responsible for any "bloodshed and chaos" to come.

The protests have been the most serious challenge to Iran's clerical regime since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 that saw the downfall of the Shah.

Clashes between police and protesters chanting "death to the dictator" came as the Guardian Council announced it was ready to re-count a random selection of a tenth of the votes from the disputed presidential poll.

Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, another defeated candidate, refused to attend the meeting with the Guardian Council to discuss the 646 complaints of voting irregularities.

Ordinary Iranians, as well as observers both inside and outside Iran, are now waiting for Mousavi's next move. The man who has become the focal point for challenges to the regime appears to have stepped back from open confrontation in the past two days.

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[iranburning]

Some one tell this ass hole to fuck off, we will take our country back from you and your Hitler youth

[Mudhooks]

Bullshit.

[siavash1000]

پاینده باد سرزمین آریائی ما ایران

مرگ بر جمهوری اسلامی و هر چه عرب پرست وطن فروش

[sadra0444]

kooni

[LindsayCurran]

Elibaba7 thanks for posting. May the brave people of Iran prevail!!! The world is watching!!! Good people worldwide salute the awesome courage of the Iranian people! You will live in history!!! No crooked recount of a paltry 10 per cent of an utterly fraudelent account! The cowardly leaders stand exposed to the entire world as the liars and brutes that they are!! Freedom for the Iranian people!!!

[tunatony]

NEDA LIVES ON IN YOU...IRAN BE FREE!

[outled]

Looks just like the streets of London or New York during similar protests.

This whole farce of a story is totally unsubstatiated nonsense.

The truth is that ahmadinejad was snubbed by zionists and is now being villified to further esculate the illusion that war is necessary in that region.

Please people dont listen to the MSM the quality of info there giving you is sparse and in a lot of cases a repeat of a lie.

Peace.