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Iranian Police Attack Protestors in Central Tehran Monday

by stevesmys | June 22, 2009 at 11:19 am

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Iranian riot police attacked demonstrators in central Tehran Monday, carrying out an earlier threat by Iran's Revolutionary Guards against any unapproved rallies.

About 1000 people had gathered on Haft-e Tir Square before police swarmed, using tear gas and fired live bullets into the air to disperse the crowd.

Basij militiamen were brought in to reinforce the police, standing in groups wielding clubs.

Severe reporting restrictions placed on the BBC and other foreign media in Iran mean protest reports cannot be verified independently.

Just before the clashes, an Iranian woman who lives in Tehran said there was a heavy police and security presence in another square in central Tehran. She asked not to be identified because she was worried about government reprisals.

“There is a massive, massive, massive police presence,” she told the Associated Press in Cairo by telephone. “Their presence was really intimidating.”

In side streets, young people set fire to rubbish skips in what they said was a protest but also an attempt to combat the tear gas.

Some claimed not to be scared by the large show of force and threats from the Revolutionary Guards.

The Guards posted an statement on their website hours before the clashes, saying their troops would shut down any protests.

At least 17 protesters have been killed in the week following President Mahmoud Ahmadineja's controversial election win on June 12.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the unelected supreme leader, stated on Friday that Ahmadinejad's win is valid and also warned against continued protests of the results.

The Guardian Council, the country's highest electoral authority, acknowledged Monday some voting irregularities in 50 electoral districts.