Seven people have died in clashes in Tehran after an "unauthorised gathering" following a mass rally over alleged election fraud, Iran's state radio reported.
By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor
Published: 6:25AM BST 16 Jun 2009
The report said the seven died in shooting that erupted after several people in the west of the capital "tried to attack a military location" on Monday evening.
More than 100,000 opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had earlier marched through Tehran protesting at alleged vote rigging in last week's elections.The outpouring on to the streets was the greatest display of popular feeling since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
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The state radio report was the first official confirmation of the shooting in Tehran's Azadi Square. Witnesses saw at least one person shot dead and several others seriously wounded after shooting from a compound for volunteer militia linked to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard.
To cries of "death to the dictator", Iranians had protested against President Ahmadinejad's proclaimed re-election.
The rally, larger than anything seen in the capital since the demonstrations that toppled Shah Reza Pahlavi 30 years ago, openly defied the authorities. The interior ministry had banned the rally and warned protesters that live ammunition could be used against them.
US President Barack Obama said the world was "inspired" by the Iranian demonstrators and that he was "deeply troubled" by post-election violence.
"The democratic process, free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent - all those are universal values and need to be respected," he said.
Vast crowds streamed towards Azadi Square. Many people displayed the green colours of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the former prime minister who contested the election. His supporters were convinced that he was deprived of the presidency by electoral fraud.
Mr Mousavi made his first appearance since the votes were cast on Friday. He told the crowd:
"Our people want respect and they want their votes to be counted. God willing, we will take back our rights."
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, will have the final say in the dispute. When the election results were first announced, he hailed them as a "divine" verdict.
Yesterday, however, he appeared to soften this stance and said a committee of 12 clerics would investigate the claims of vote rigging. However, this body is dominated by hard-liners and Mr Mousavi's supporters have little confidence in its desire to reach an impartial verdict.
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By Dominic Evans and Fredrik Dahl
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Seven people were killed near a rally held by supporters of defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi, state television said on Tuesday, as they prepared for more protests against a poll they say was rigged.
Backers of hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said they planned a demonstration on Tuesday at the same location as Mousavi supporters, raising the possibility of further clashes between the rival camps.
Ahmadinejad, who according to official results won a resounding re-election, was endorsed as "the new president" by the Russian government on Tuesday during his first foreign trip since Friday's poll.
U.S. President Barack Obama said he was deeply troubled by the post-election violence in Iran and demonstrators who had taken to the streets in three days of protests had inspired the world.
Iran's English-language Press TV said seven people were killed and several wounded at the end of Monday's rally -- a mainly peaceful gathering attended by many tens of thousands -- when "thugs" tried to attack a military post in central Tehran.
It gave no details of how the seven deaths occurred.
An Iranian photographer at the scene had said Islamic militiamen opened fire when people in the crowd attacked a post of the Basij religious militia.
The Iranian capital has already seen three days of the biggest and most violent anti-government protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and Mousavi supporters have pledged to continue their demonstrations.
Further protests, especially if they are maintained on the same scale, would be a direct challenge to authorities who have kept a tight grip on dissent since the overthrow of the U.S.-backed shah after months of demonstrations 30 years ago.
"Tomorrow at 5 p.m. (1:30 p.m. British time) at Vali-ye Asr Square," some of the crowd chanted at Monday's march, referring to a major road junction in the sprawling city of 12 million.
Ahmadinejad supporters plan a rally at the same square just an hour earlier, the semi-official Fars News said. It quoted an organisation affiliated to the government as saying the gathering would be "in protest against the recent agitation and destruction of public property."
Press TV said Mousavi had called for calm at what it called his supporters' "illegally" planned rally.
LEADING REFORMIST ARRESTED
Leading Iranian reformist Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice-president who backed pro-reform candidate Mehdi Karoubi in the election, was arrested early on Tuesday, his office said.
Reformist sources said another prominent reformer and Mousavi ally, Saeed Hajjarian, was arrested on Monday.
Obama said on Monday he was concerned by the violence.
"The democratic process, free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent -- all those are universal values and need to be respected," he told reporters.
The United States and its European allies have been trying to engage Iran and persuade the world's fifth-biggest oil exporter to halt nuclear work that could be used to make an atomic bomb. Iran says it wants nuclear energy only to generate electricity.
Obama said he would continue pursuing tough, direct dialogue with Tehran but urged that any Iranian investigation of election irregularities be conducted without bloodshed. The world was inspired by the Iranian protesters, he said.
Demonstrators filled a broad avenue in central Tehran for several kilometres on Monday, chanting "We fight, we die, we will not accept this vote rigging," in support of Mousavi.
Mousavi was "ready to pay any price" in his fight against election irregularities, his website quoted him as saying, indicating a determination to keep up the pressure for the election result to be annulled.
"Tanks and guns have no use any longer," chanted the protesters in a deliberate echo of slogans used leading up to the 1979 revolution.
Members of Iran's security forces have at times fired into the air during the unrest and used batons to beat protesters who have pelted police with stones.
The Basij militia is a volunteer paramilitary force fiercely loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has the final say on all matters of state.
Gunfire was heard in three districts of wealthy northern Tehran late on Monday and residents said there had been peaceful pro-Mousavi demonstrations in the cities of Rasht, Orumiyeh, Zahedan, and Tabriz on Monday.
(Writing by Dominic Evans; editing by Andrew Dobbie)
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Iran rules out annulment, Tehran crowds gather
By Parisa Hafezi and Fredrik Dahl
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's top legislative body on Tuesday ruled out annulling a disputed presidential poll that has prompted the biggest street protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution, but said it was prepared for a partial recount.
In what appeared to be a first concession by authorities to the protest movement, the 12-man Guardian Council said it was ready to re-tally votes in the poll, in which hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the runaway winner.
But the powerful Council rejected reformist calls to annul Friday's election, which set off swift-moving political turmoil, riveting attention on the world's fifth biggest oil exporter, locked in a nuclear dispute with the West.
State television said the "main agents" in post-election unrest had been arrested with explosives and guns. It gave no further details.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who has sought to engage Iran and asked its leadership to "unclench its fist," said he was deeply troubled by the post-election violence and that protesters who had taken to the streets had inspired the world.
Supporters of Mirhossein Mousavi, outraged at what they viewed as a stolen election, had planned another big rally on Tuesday, even though seven people were killed on Monday on the fringes of a vast march through the streets of Tehran.
But state television showed live pictures of thousands of Ahmadinejad supporters, some waving Iranian flags, gathering at the Vali-ye Asr Square before any Mousavi supporters arrived, and authorities banned the opposition rally.
Mousavi urged his supporters to stay away from the square "to protect lives" and avoid possible confrontation with security forces and Ahmadinejad backers. It was not clear if the call would be heeded.
Further protests, especially if they are maintained on the same scale, would be a direct challenge to the authorities who have kept a tight grip on dissent since the U.S.-backed shah was overthrown in 1979 after months of demonstrations.
JOURNALISTS BANNED
Illustrating Iran's sensitivity to world opinion, authorities on Tuesday banned foreign journalists from leaving their offices to cover street protests.
"No journalist has permission to report or film or take pictures in the city,"
a Culture Ministry official told Reuters.On the world stage, the United States and its European allies have been trying to persuade Iran to halt nuclear work that could be used to make an atomic bomb. Iran says its program is purely for peaceful electricity generation.
France, Germany and Britain have led an EU campaign to persuade Iran to clarify the election results, but Iran on Tuesday summoned a senior Czech diplomat, representing the EU, to protest against "interventionist and insulting" EU statements about the election, the ISNA news agency said.
A spokesman for the Guardian Council, which groups clerics and Islamic law experts as a constitutional watchdog, said that it was "ready to recount the disputed ballot boxes claimed by some candidates, in the presence of their representatives."
"It is possible that there may be some changes in the tally after the recount," spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai said. "Based on the law, the demand of those candidates for the cancellation of the vote, this cannot be considered," he told state television.
In northern Tehran, a Mousavi stronghold, his supporters gathered in small groups, wearing wristbands in his green campaign colors, amid heavy traffic, residents said.
"We only want cancellation of the election result," said one of them, Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour.
Dozens of young supporters of Mousavi, holding pictures of him, walked toward the state television building in northern Tehran, residents said. Car drivers honked their horns in support and passengers flashed victory signs.
Despite the turmoil at home, Ahmadinejad traveled to Russia for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The group, which includes Russia and China, congratulated him on his win.
MONDAY VIOLENCE
Iran's English-language Press TV said seven people were killed and several wounded at the end of Monday's rally -- a mainly peaceful gathering attended by many tens of thousands -- when "thugs" tried to attack a military post in central Tehran.
An Iranian photographer at the scene had said Islamic militiamen opened fire when people in the crowd attacked a post of the Basij religious militia. He said one person was killed and many wounded.
The Basij militia is a volunteer paramilitary force fiercely loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state and replaced revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini when he died 20 years ago.
During the past three days of violence, police have accused "bandits" of setting buses on fire, breaking windows of banks and other buildings, and damaging public property.
Iran's influential speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, a conservative who has been critical of Ahmadinejad in the past, condemned Sunday's attack on students at Tehran University, which they blamed on the Basij militia and plainclothes police.
"They (attackers) have attacked dormitories and brutally broken legs, heads, arms and thrown some of the students out of the windows," Mousavi said, according to his website.
There have been widespread arrests across the country since the election protests broke out. ISNA said on Tuesday that around 100 people were arrested in unrest near a university in the southern city of Shiraz.
Leading Iranian reformist Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice-president who backed pro-reform candidate Mehdi Karoubi in the election, was arrested early on Tuesday, his office said.
Gunfire was heard in districts of northern Tehran late on Monday and residents said there were peaceful pro-Mousavi protests in the cities of Rasht, Orumiyeh, Zahedan, and Tabriz.
(Writing by Peter Millership; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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Jun 17, 2009 10:55 | Updated Jun 17, 2009 13:54
Iranian prosecutor: Protest leaders may get death penalty
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
While Iran's opposition announced another day of street demonstrations, an Iranian provincial prosecutor, Mohammadreza Habibi, warned that the "few elements" behind the pro-Mousavi protests could face the death penalty under Islamic law, Reuters cited an Iranian news agency on Wednesday.
Wounded protester near rally in Teheran Monday.
Photo: AP
Slideshow: Unrest in Iran
Habibi, prosecutor-general in the central province of Isfahan, said the elements behind the post-election unrest were controlled from outside Iran and urged them to stop "criminal activities," the Fars News Agency reported.
"We warn the few elements controlled by foreigners who try to disrupt domestic security by inciting individuals to destroy and to commit arson that the Islamic penal code for such individuals waging war against God is execution," Habibi reportedly said.
"So before they are stricken with the law's anger they should return to the nation's embrace and avoid criminal measures and activities," the prosecutor concluded. It was not clear if his warning applied to just Isfahan or the country as a whole.
According to Reuters, Mousavi on Wednesday called on his supporters to hold peaceful demonstrations or gather in mosques on Thursday to express solidarity with people killed in post-election unrest.
"A number of our countrymen were wounded or martyred ... I ask the people to express their solidarity with the families .... by coming together in mosques or taking part in peaceful demonstrations," Mousavi reportedly said in a statement on his website on Wednesday. He said he would also take part.
Meanwhile, in its first pronouncement on the deepening election crisis, Iran's most powerful military force, the Revolutionary Guard, warned of a crackdown against online media in its first pronouncement on the deepening election crisis.
Blogs and Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter have been vital conduits for Iranians to inform the world about protests over Friday's disputed election. Pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and his supporters accuse the government of rigging the election to declare hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner.
The Web became more essential after the government barred foreign media Tuesday from leaving their offices to report on demonstrations on the streets of Teheran.
The Revolutionary Guard, an elite military force answering to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said through the state news service that Iranian Web sites and bloggers must remove any materials that "create tension" or face legal action.
Watch footage of riots from youtube:
The Guards are a separate military with enormous domestic influence and control of Iran's most important defense programs. They are one of the key sources of power for a cleric-led establishment that has been pushed by the crisis into an extraordinary public defense of the Islamic ruling system.
The unelected supreme leader made a highly unusual appeal Tuesday in response to tensions, telling Iranians that all citizens should hold fast to their belief in the system despite disagreements over the election.
Despite official warnings and a ban on street demonstrations, some Web sites allied with opposition leader Mousavi said Wednesday that supporters should gather in a downtown square in the late afternoon.
The announcement raised the prospect of further clashes with security forces. The violence has left at least seven people dead, according to Iran's state media.
On Tuesday, US President
Obama said there was not much difference between the policies of incumbent Ahmadinejad and reformist presidential candidate Mousavi, who supporters have led nation-wide protests against Friday's election results.
"It's important to understand that although there is amazing ferment taking place in Iran, the difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised," Obama told CNBC news.
"Either way we were going to be dealing with an Iranian regime that has historically been hostile to the United States, that has caused some problems in the neighborhood and has been pursuing nuclear weapons," he said.
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