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Iran's hardliners attack opposition head

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-18 23:05

TEHRAN: Iranian hardliners attacked opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi and security forces clashed with his supporters during an annual anti-Israeli rally in Tehran on Friday.

A supporter of defeated presidential candidate and opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi pleads with police during a rally marking Qods (Jerusalem) Day in Tehran September 18, 2009. [Agencies]

The state news agency IRNA said Mousavi and reformist cleric Mehdi Karoubi, both defeated candidates in the disputed poll in June, were forced to leave the rally after being attacked by "angry people."

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Reformist former president Mohammad Khatami took part in the rally, but was also attacked by hardliners and had to leave after his robe was ripped and his turban fell to the ground, an ally of Khatami who accompanied him said.

Thousands of supporters of Mousavi were among the crowds marching in "Qods (Jerusalem) Day" rallies held nationwide every year on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Iranian authorities, including Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had warned the opposition against turning anti-Israel rallies to street protests against the clerical establishment.

Witnesses said clashes erupted between police and Mousavi's supporters during protests in central and northern Tehran and that police fired teargas to disperse protesters.

They said they saw some people being detained and beaten.

"Security forces just arrested over 10 people," the witness said. "They are pushing protesters and beating them."

"Supporters of (President) Ahmadinejad are beating supporters of Mousavi near the Vali-ye Asr street (in central Tehran). At least two protesters were injured," the witness said.

Green wristbands

Residents said many drivers, wearing green wristbands, held out their hands in V signs as they drove in the city, especially on freeways.

Reformist websites said a number of protesters were arrested in the northwestern city of Tabriz and Isfahan in central Iran.

Iran's disputed June presidential vote, which was followed by huge opposition protests, plunged Iran into its worst political crisis in three decades and revealed deepening divisions within its ruling elites.

The opposition leaders say the poll was rigged to secure the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The authorities deny this accusation.

Rights groups say thousands of people, including senior pro-reform figures, were arrested after the election, though most have been freed. The opposition says more than 70 people died during street protests after the vote. It contradicts the official death toll of 36 people.