Friday 17 July 2009

On the streets of Tehran again... (Refresh)

Renewed Protests, Violence Reported In Tehran

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A photo the Associated Press received from an individual in Tehran, showing a man said to have been injured during today's clashes. AP photo

By Mark Memmott

"Clashes erupted ... in central Tehran" today, Reuters reports.

The wire service says there was violence involving "police and followers of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi."

It quotes one witness as saying "police fired tear gas and beat supporters of Mousavi in Keshavarz Boulevard."

The Associated Press says that "pro-government Basiji militiamen in front of a line of riot police fired tear gas at hundreds of opposition protesters who changed 'death to the dictator' and called on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to resign."

This followed a sermon today by former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who called for the release of those who have been arrested during previous protests over the disputed June 12 presidential election, which Mousavi and his supporters believe was rigged in favor of Ahmadinejad.

At the Los Angeles Times' Babylon & Beyond blog, there's video that's said to show "crowds of angry opposition supporters" reacting to Rafsanjani's sermon.

The Guardian is reporting that:

Outside Tehran University police fired teargas at Mousavi supporters who were demanding the release of detainees in the biggest anti-government protest since the mass demonstrations that immediately followed the contested election. At least 15 people were arrested, witnesses said.

Tehran Bureau has a photo it says shows Mousavi at the Friday prayers service where Rafsanjani spoke.

As during previous days of demonstrations, Twitter is lighting up. Several folks have pointed to this YouTube channel, which is posting what it says are video clips from today's scenes in Tehran.
#IranElection: There are 100s of videos from today's protests. CNN, Al Jazeera, BBC - where are you? less than 20 seconds ago from web
نماز جمعه ،۲۶ تیر ، خیابان فلسطین



With reports of over a million people on the streets with again violent clashes, this time while the Friday prayers were apparently taking place.

Rafsanjani's Friday Prayer Sermon

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