EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran. Supporters of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi throw stones during a protest on a street in Tehran June 20, 2009. Mousavi said on Saturday he was "ready for martyrdom" in leading protests that have shaken the Islamic Republic and brought warnings of bloodshed from Iran's Supreme Leader.
REUTERS via Your View (IRAN POLITICS CONFLICT ELECTIONS)
By NASSER KARIMI and WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writers 13 mins ago
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran braced for the possibility of more bloody confrontations between protesters and security forces on the streets of Tehran as fresh images of brutality emerged Sunday despite the regime's attempts to impose a news blackout.
Witnesses claimed that numerous demonstrators were injured — and several allegedly killed — in clashes with black-clad police wielding guns, truncheons, tear gas and water cannons on Saturday as protests over disputed elections escalated into Iran's most serious internal unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Authorities did not confirm any deaths, and the reports from bloggers and Twitter users inside Iran could not immediately be verified.
In a separate incident, a state-run television channel reported that a suicide bombing at the shrine of the Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini killed at least two people and wounded eight. Another state channel broadcast images of broken glass, but no other damage or casualties, and showed a witness saying three people had been wounded.
State TV quoted an unidentified witness as saying a man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up at the mausoleum's main gate. "Thank God, we did not have many casualties," the witness said.
The reports could be not independently evaluated due to government restrictions on journalists.
If proven true, the reports could enrage conservatives and bring strains among backers of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, whose protest movement claims widespread fraud in June 12 elections robbed him of victory and kept hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in office.
Thousands of protesters defied Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to march on waiting security forces. Amateur video showed the demonstrators pelting police with stones and shouting: "Death to the dictator!"
The extent of injuries in the street battles was unclear. Some witnesses said dozens were hurt and gunfire was heard.
Scores of injured protesters who had sought medical treatment were arrested by security forces at hospitals in the capital, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran claimed.
It said doctors had been ordered to report protest-related injuries to the authorities, and that some seriously injured protesters had sought refuge at foreign embassies in a bid to evade arrest.
"The arrest of citizens seeking care for wounds suffered at the hands of security forces when they attempted to exercise rights guaranteed under their own constitution and international law is deplorable," said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesman for the campaign, denouncing the alleged arrests as "a sign of profound disrespect by the state for the well-being of its own people."
"The government of Iran should be ashamed of itself. Right now, in front of the whole world, it is showing its violent actions," he said.
An eery calm descended on Tehran early Sunday, where the streets were quiet and there were no signs that security forces were massing.
Saturday's clashes along one of Tehran's main avenues — as described by witnesses — had far fewer demonstrators than recent mass rallies for Mousavi. But they marked another blow to authorities who sought to intimidate protesters with harsh warnings and lines of black-clad police three deep in places.
The rallies also left questions about Mousavi's ability to hold together his protest movement.
Mousavi bewildered many followers by not directly replying to the ultimatum issued Friday by Khamenei, Iran's most powerful figure. His stern order to Mousavi and others: Call off demonstrations or risk being held responsible for "bloodshed, violence and rioting."
A police commander sharpened the message Saturday. Gen. Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghadam said more than a week of unrest and marches had become "exhausting, bothersome and intolerable." He threatened a more "serious confrontation" if protesters return.
Mousavi's silence was broken after the melee with another call to annul the election results. But there was no mention of the clashes — suggesting he wants to distance himself from the violence and possibly opening the door for more militant factions to break away.
Amateur video also showed clashes erupting in the southern city of Shiraz and witnesses reported street violence in Isfahan, south of Tehran.
Other footage posted in the hours after the crackdown showed blood pouring from a young woman's nose and mouth as frantic people tried to help her. Two separate videos of the incident, each shot from a different angle, were uploaded onto the social networking sites Facebook and YouTube. The YouTube video described the location of the incident as Amirabad, central Tehran, and said the woman had been fatally shot.
The Associated Press could not independently verify the content of the video, its location, or the date it was shot.
"I think the regime has taken an enormous risk in confronting this situation in the manner that they have," said Mehrdad Khonsari, a consultant to the London-based Center for Arab and Iranian Studies.
"Now they'll have to hold their ground and hope that people don't keep coming back," he added. "But history has taught us that people in these situations lose their initial sense of fear and become emboldened by brutality."
In Washington, President Barack Obama urged Iranian authorities to halt "all violent and unjust actions against its own people." He said the United States "stands by all who seek to exercise" the universal rights to assembly and free speech.
Obama has offered to open talks with Iran to ease a nearly 30-year diplomatic freeze, but the upheaval could complicate any attempts at outreach.
Full details of the street battles could not be obtained because of Iranian media restrictions. But witnesses described scenes that could sharply escalate the most serious internal conflict since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Police first fired tear gas and water cannons at the protesters, witnesses said. Then came a second wave. It included volunteer militiamen on motorcycles chasing down demonstrators.
Witnesses claimed some marchers were beaten with batons by security forces or metal pipes wielded by the militiamen known as Basijis, who are directed by the powerful Revolutionary Guard.
On the streets, witnesses said some protesters also shouted "Death to Khamenei!" — another sign of once unthinkable challenges to his authority.
Khamenei sided firmly with Ahmadinejad on Friday, saying the vote reflected popular will and ordering opposition leaders to end street protests.
Late Saturday, Ahmadinejad thanked Khamenei in a letter for his support, telling the supreme leader: "Without a doubt, you strongly raised the flag of dignity and awareness of the Iranian nation against the arrogant."
The government has blocked Web sites such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and several pro-Mousavi sites used by Iranians to tell the world about protests and violence. Text messaging has not been working in Iran since last week, and cell phone service in Tehran is frequently down.
But that won't stifle the opposition networks, said Sami Al Faraj, president of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies.
"They can resort to whispering ... they can do it the old-fashioned way," he said.
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Karimi reported from Tehran and Kole from Cairo. Associated Press Writers Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Sebastian Abbot in Cairo contributed to this report.
A suicide bomber has attacked the Tehran a shrine to Ayatollah Khomeini, killing one person and wounding two others.
The first reports of the blast came from bloggers on Twitter, who immediately claimed it would be used by the regime to impose martial law.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters rallying in Tehran to demand a new presidential election, witnesses have reported.
The BBC's Persian news service broadcast footage which appeared to show a full-scale riot. Cars were set alight and gunshots could be heard throughout the six-minute clip.
Demonstrators gathered in central Tehran in open defiance of the cleric-led government. Some 3,000 protesters chanted 'Death to the dictator!' and 'Death to dictatorship!' near Revolution Square in central Tehran.
Face of revolt: A bleeding protester shown in a picture which reached the West on Twitter
Police confronted them along with thousands of plainclothed militia members filled the streets to prevent rallies.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned opposition leaders on Friday to end street protests or be held responsible for any 'bloodshed and chaos' to come.
Tehran Province Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan said 'police forces will crack down on any gathering or protest rally which are being planned by some people.'
English-language state TV said the country's highest national security body had ordered security forces to deal with the situation. It did not elaborate.
Video below: Persian BBC shows rioting on Tehran's streets
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a sermon yesterday as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad listens
BBC gets the blame: A worshiper holds a placard as he arrives Friday prayers in Tehran
The government statements were the most explicit warnings yet of force against protesters who gathered in massive rallies last week to demand the government cancel and rerun elections that ended with a declaration of overwhelming victory for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mousavi says he won but Ahmadinejad stole the election through widespread fraud. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sided firmly with Ahmadinejad Friday, saying the result reflected popular will and ordering opposition leadersto end street protests or be held responsible for any 'bloodshed and chaos' to come.
The statement effectively closed the door to Mousavi's demand for a new election, ratcheting up the possibility of a confrontation.
Iran's Interior Ministry raised the possibility of directly punishing the 67-year-old former prime minister, saying he would 'be held responsible for the consequences of any illegal gatherings.'
The ministry accused him of supporting protests that 'have lead to the disruption of security and public order,' State Security Council secretary, Abbas Mohtaj, said in a statement on the ministry's Web site.
Mousavi and reformist candidate Mahdi Karroubi did not attend a meeting with Iran's Guardian Council on Saturday, state TV said. The council, an unelected body of 12 clerics and Islamic law experts close to Khamenei, investigates voter fraud claims.
Iranian Basij paramilitary volunteers, affiliated to the elite Revolutionary Guard, attending a parade ceremony, marking the 28th anniversary of the onset of the Iran-Iraq war
A conservative candidate, former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei, did attend, state TV said.
The state's English-language channel said the Guardian Council had agreed to a recount of 10 per cent of the votes, without providing details.
State TV also said the Association of Combatant Clerics, a reformist group linked to former President Mohammad Khatami, a Mousavi ally, had told supporters to stay off the streets. The report could not immediately be confirmed.
Since the election on June 12, Mousavi has become the figurehead for a broad collection of demonstrators - from the most liberal-leaning reformists to religious conservatives. Some could be prepared to take their protests to the limit, but many others have no interest in an all-out mutiny against the country's Islamic system.
A first sign of possible resistance to Khamenei's orders to cease came shortly after nightfall in Tehran Friday.
Noise: Mousavi attempted to speak through a loudspeaker, but the noise was too great to be heard
Cries of 'Death to the dictator!' and 'Allahu akbar' - 'God is great' - rang from rooftops in what's become a nightly ritual of opposition unity.
A spokesman for Mousavi said yesterday that the opposition leader was not under arrest but was not allowed to speak to journalists or stand at a microphone at rallies.
Speaking in Paris, Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf said it is even becoming difficult to reach people close to Mousavi. He said he has not heard from Mousavi's camp since Khamenei's address.
Iranian authorities have interfered with the Internet and mobile phone networks and placed strict limits on the ability of foreign media to cover recent events, banning reporting from the street and allowing only phone interviews and information from officials sources such as state TV.
Gordon Brown and other European Union leaders have expressed dismay over the threat of a crackdow and both houses of the U.S. Congress approved a resolution yesterday condemning 'the ongoing violence' by the Iranian government and its suppression of the Internet and mobile phones.
In an interview taped, President Barack Obama said he is very concerned by the 'tenor and tone' of Khamenei's comments.
He also said that how Iran's leaders 'approach and deal with people who are, through peaceful means, trying to be heard' will signal 'what Iran is and is not.'
6/21/2009 2:58 AM
Christine McClintock wrote:
Mr. Mosavi was part of the 'original', which took the Shah of Iran down. He served for 10 years and does not have a stellar human rights record himself. Are "we" in the West putting support behind real change in Iran? I don't know. Reply to this
Play Video ABC News – Iranian Leader Vows Crackdown 
Mr. Mosavi was part of the 'original', which took the Shah of Iran down. He served for 10 years and does not have a stellar human rights record himself. Are "we" in the West putting support behind real change in Iran? I don't know.
Reply to this