Death Toll In Iran Clashes At Least 17

100 Protesters Injured; Police Arrest Wounded In Hospitals; Gov't Condemns Nations Questioning Ahmadinejad Victory

(CBS/AP)  Last Updated 10:28 a.m. ET.

An eerie calm settled over the streets of Tehran Sunday, as state media reported at least 10 more deaths in post-election unrest and said authorities arrested the daughter and four other relatives of ex-President Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of Iran's most powerful men.

The reports brought the official death toll for a week of boisterous confrontations to at least 17 (originally said to be 20).

State television inside Iran said 10 were killed and 100 injured in clashes Saturday between demonstrators contesting the result of the June 12 election and black-clad police wielding truncheons, tear gas and water cannons.

Police and members of Iran's Basij militia took up positions Sunday afternoon on major streets and squares, including the site of Saturday's clashes, but there was no immediate word on whether protesters were gathering.

Iran's regime continued to impose a blackout on the country's most serious internal conflict since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

IranWatch Blog: Track the latest on the Iran election upheaval

But fresh images and allegations of brutality emerged as Iranians at home and abroad sought to shed light on a week of astonishing resistance to hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The New-York based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said Sunday that scores of injured protesters who had sought medical treatment after Saturday's clashes were arrested by security forces at hospitals in the capital.

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.

State-run Press TV reported that Rafsanjani's eldest daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, and four other family members were arrested late Saturday. It did not identify the other four.

Last week, state television showed images of Hashemi, 46, speaking to hundreds of supporters of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. After her appearance, hard-line students gathered outside the Tehran prosecutor's office and accused her of treason, state radio reported.

Rafsanjani, 75, has made no secret of his distaste for Ahmadinejad, whose re-election victory in a June 12 vote was disputed by Mousavi. Ahmadinejad has accused Rafsanjani and his family of corruption.

The influential Rafsanjani now heads two very powerful groups. The most important one is the Assembly of Experts, made up of senior clerics who can elect and dismiss the supreme leader. The second is the Expediency Council, a body that arbitrates disputes between parliament and the unelected Guardian Council, which can block legislation.

His daughter's arrest came as something of a surprise: Just Friday, Khamenei had praised Rafsanjani as one of the architects of the revolution and an effective political figure for many years. Khamenei acknowledged, however, that the two have "many differences of opinion."

Thousands of supporters of Mousavi, who claims he won the election, squared off Saturday against security forces in a dramatic show of defiance of Khamenei.

Underscoring how the protesters have become emboldened despite the regime's repeated and ominous warnings, witnesses said some shouted "Death to Khamenei!" at Saturday's demonstrations - another sign of once unthinkable challenges to the virtually limitless authority of the country's most powerful figure.

Sunday's state media reports also said rioters set two gas stations on fire and attacked a military post in clashes Saturday. They quoted the deputy police chief claiming officers did not use live ammunition to dispel the crowds.

Iran has also acknowledged the deaths of seven protesters in clashes on Monday.

State media also reported a suicide bombing at the shrine of the Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Saturday killed the attacker and injured five other people.

There was some confusion about the death toll. English-language Press TV, which is broadcast only outside the country, put the toll at 13 and labeled those who died "terrorists." There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.

Amnesty International cautioned that it was "perilously hard" to verify the casualty tolls.

"The climate of fear has cast a shadow over the whole situation," Amnesty's chief Iran researcher, Drewery Dyke, told The Associated Press. "In the 10 years I've been following this country, I've never felt more at sea than I do now. It's just cut off."

Iran has imposed strict controls on foreign media covering the unrest, saying correspondents cannot go out into the streets to report.

Reporters Without Borders said 20 journalists were arrested over the past week. The British Broadcasting Corp. said Sunday that its Tehran-based correspondent, Jon Leyne, had been asked to leave the country. The BBC said its office remained open.

Countries Condemned For Questioning Ahmadinejad's Re-Election

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the United States and Britain on Sunday to stop interfering in the Islamic Republic's internal affairs after its June 12 presidential election, the ISNA news agency said.

Many Western countries and rights groups have criticized the election, which was won by Ahmadinejad according to official figures, and its aftermath.

"Definitely by hasty remarks you will not be placed in the circle of friendship with the Iranian nation. Therefore I advise you to correct your interfering stances," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in a meeting with clerics and scholars.

Ahmadinejad said Western countries wanted to belittle Iran's position after the election but that they had made a mistake.

"Definitely, recent events will add to the Islamic Republic of Iran's greatness and might," Ahmadinejad said.

In an address to foreign diplomats in Tehran broadcast live on state television, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki earlier sharply criticized Britain's "interfering remarks" about the election and also hit out at Germany and France.

Mottaki accused France of taking "treacherous and unjust approaches."

But he saved his most pointed criticism for Britain, raising a litany of historical grievances and accusing the country of flying intelligence agents into Iran before the election to interfere with the vote. The election, he insisted, was a "very transparent competition."

Mottaki said Iran had noticed "some newcomers" coming to the country from Britain in the weeks leading up to the election.

"They were elements affiliated to the intelligence apparatus of Britain," he said. "They wanted to come here to see, to have certain effects."

That drew an indignant response from British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who "categorically" denied his country was meddling. "This can only damage Iran's standing in the eyes of the world," Miliband said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, meanwhile, urged Iran anew to conduct a complete and transparent recount, and Italy called on the regime to find a peaceful end to the dispute.

In Washington on Saturday, 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.

Mr. 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.

Israeli President Shimon Peres applauded Iran's pro-reform protesters Sunday, saying the young should "raise their voice for freedom" - an explicit message of support from a country that sees itself as most endangered by the hard-line government in Tehran.

Saturday's unrest came a day after Khamenei sternly warned Mousavi and his backers to all off demonstrations or risk being held responsible for "bloodshed, violence and rioting." Delivering a sermon at Friday prayers attended by tens of thousands, Khamenei sided firmly with Ahmadinejad, calling the result "an absolute victory" that reflected popular will and ordering opposition leaders to end their street protests.

Mousavi did not directly reply to the ultimatum.

His camp, meanwhile, denied reports that he had proclaimed himself ready for martyrdom on Saturday.

"Mousavi has never said this," his close ally, Qorban Behzadiannejad, told the AP. Mousavi's Web site also said statements that Mousavi was preparing for death were inaccurate.

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.

On Sunday, former reformist president Mohammad Khatami called for the formation of a board to decide the outcome of the disputed election, and urged the release of detained activists and an end to the violence in the streets.

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.

[truespeak]

MUCH TOO MUCH RELIGIOUS IMPOSITION AND RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE IN IRAN

The citizen-victims of Iran are pretty much forced to be Moslems against their will. Actually, the ones in Iran who claim to voluntarily follow Islam, have ALREADY been brainwashed into it and just don't know better!

Religion is poison!
"...hardens hearts, and enslaves minds."

Religion causes people to murder and to die for myths, superstition, lies, fabrications, made-up stories, and ancient delusions, which continue to dupe and control the people!

[hungry1968-15]

by darthcheney123 June 21, 2009 7:26 PM PDT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Inselian.jpg

That's what happens when you let Democrats have guns.

Democrats think people shouldn't be allowed to have guns.

Because THEY shouldn't be allowed to have guns.

And they just assume everybody else is as nutty as they are.






Name a democrat that is trying to take away guns or restrict their use - with legislation proving your point.

[ToolMangler1]

It was alright for them to condemn the USA for seeking vengance for the attacks of 9/11/01 and other bombings (USS Cole) etc etc. But we are not allowed to repay in kind???? Gimme a break!!!

[PENWEL]

A MEMO TO THE RULERS OF IRAN BATHING IN THE BLOOD OF THEIR OPPRESSED PEOPLE DYING FOR THEIR GOD-GIVEN RIGHT TO FREEDOM. ANY WOULD-BE RULER WHO EXALTS HIMSELF, WILL NEVER GAIN A PLACE AT THE HEAD OF THE TABLE. ANY RULER WHO HUMBLES HIMSELF, WILL GAIN THE LOVE OF THE WHOLE WORLD AND THE GODS IN THE HEAVENS TOO...

[williamrich1]

Oh my gosh! Is that you mom?

[williamrich1]

Precisely!

[williamrich1]

Yes, I once hoped of being the next Tom Wolfe. Unfortunately there is no shortage of Smart *****!

[-Lawyers-Guns-n-Money-]

...nor vanities.

[-Lawyers-Guns-n-Money-]

But there is a shortage of bonfires.

[riddelup]

How many Americans took to the streets when GWB was made president despite losing the popular vote? Iranians are not seeking what America has but what we never had.When will we have a president subject to popular vote? When will we have a health care system not subject to the whims of lobbies?

[williamrich1]

I remember attending a 60's era John Birch meeting with mom where a college student suggested adding the American Negro to the list of oppressed. Mom whispered not so quietly the SOB should be shot. The greatest threat a tyrant poses is that we become like them.

[brianstillwa]

The people of Iran have a RIGHT to choose their own government, and all free people should be championing their cause.

I stand with the people of Iran and celebrate their re-awakening. Rise up children of Iran, Rise up and reclaim your birthright. The world is watching and supporting you. Your opressors have been put on notice. They rule only by your consent, and that consent should be withdrawn when the government no longer meets the needs or pproval of the governed.

I would like to live in a world that included a FREE and PEACEFULL Iran. We have been waiting for you for a long time.

[wyodutch]

Where were you in 1953 when America and Britain staged a coup that toppled the democratically elected government of Iran and installed the Shah as our petroleum potentate.
.
All this crap about supporting Iranian freedom and democracy is just that... crap.

[williamrich1]

The Bush 2000 election with the questionable felon exclusion lists and extended absentee ballot deadlines comes to mind. Fortunately, we accepted the "results" as enlightened Americans and realized eight years of Bush prosperity.

[presjfk]

I remember the rhetoric from the old USSR. Oh its just an honest difference of opinion many liberals would say. Well it wasn't an honest difference of opinion, and neither are the issues between Iran, its people or the USA.

Well its now official, Iran is a totalitarian state. For those that believed Iran was just a different system with legitimate grievances against the US and other western countries, it is now proven to be a lie and scapegoating for the theocracy to stay in power.

The time for understanding, meeting half-way and excuses are gone.

[williamrich1]

There is endless speculation on how the Federal Government would respond to Iran-style protest on American soil:

http://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF01BC7210001700996EC9/

[ajjaxtheleast]

Khamenei is going to see if it will work as well
in his own country as it did for us in Iraq,,,,

Today a nation's killing of people in other
countrys with the fullest of it's force is fairly
quickly forgotten and all return to business as
usual,,,In our case,,,to oil contract bids.

But killing citizens in your own country is
uncharted territory.,,,

Khamanei is now forced to go this route and
keep dropping Iranians and hang on and if he
can last maybe a month he's home free and
people WILL move on.

And it will be business as usual for all of us,,,if
less business expansion for Twitter in Saudi Arabia
and like countries.

[mljohns00]

Too bad the old "Shah of Iran" is dead. Can we put him back into power anyway?

[WayAround]

If Americans had the balls to rise up and protest against anything (e.g. financial corruption, unjust wars, etc.) in a mannner similar to the protesters in Iran, "homeland security" would put down the protesters in a similar fashion.

(Kent State, anybody?)

[-Lawyers-Guns-n-Money-]

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio

[WayAround]

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. YES!!!!!

[nshehzad]

What makes you think that Iranian elections were rigged ? I believe AhmedNejad won the clear majority, and even agreed to the recount.

AhmedNejad has done good work in the remote areas of Iran, and people were happy with his performance there - where the main population of Iran resides. Only the youth supports the new candidate because of his liberal and western views. West would like to see AhmedNejad go because he is the only one in the middle east who stands against and defy west, especially Israel.

I am in favor of peaceful demonstration, but any protests that involves law and order situation such destruction of property etc must be met with police enforcement. Imagine, what would US government do if supporters of John McCain refuse to accept the presidential election, and violate law.

Let's all think outside of box!

[WayAround]

"What makes you think that Iranian elections were rigged ?"

EXACTLY !!!

As I previously wrote, only one sentence--"the elections were not fair"--uttered nobody knows where by nobody knows whom started this whole mess.

However, the idiots (and there are many evident in the discussions on CBS) get sucked in by the propaganda.

[RanyIbrahim]

Iran, Revolution on the Revolution

30 years after the Islamic Revolution in Iran another revolution taking a place. The ?Ayatollah? regime in Iran has expired its legitimacy, and peoples, mostly younger generations has acquired and demanded a new Iranian way of life suites the current time and conditions. Iranian Facebook and Twitter generation are demanding democracy and freedom.
Where is the international community, and what are we waiting for to show some real support, not just weak concerns statements?

I guess I have two messages today; one for President Barack Obama, that is that now it?s not a time to stand and watch quietly, you got to take a firm stand and send a strong message, not only to Iran, but to other repressive nations in the region that are watching and looking closely to the World reaction - with concern that ?Winds of Change? might hit them and they might be next.

My second message is to the ?courageous? Iranian people; do not stop, and keep on claiming your rights in your democracy. Freedom isn?t free and it?s yours to claim it.

Iran, Revolution on the Revolution - http://bit.ly/9e1q2 #ireport

[USSAmerikan]

The events in Iran are a big surprise to nobody but perhaps the useful fools in the U.S. left (Nancy Pelosi being their Chief Operating Officer and Michael Moorer their Chief Marketing Officer) who still believe in the innate goodness that is at the core of those who hate the U.S. These brilliant Democrat demagogues have extrapolated from the current state of affairs that the U.S. must somehow be responsible for the hatred against us, obviating the fact that dictatorships such the Ayatollah's, Castro's and Chavez' (democracy? Give me a break!!!) would like nothing more than the implosion of our way of life, so theirs can surge. These are regimes that will resort to any means to squelch the will of the people, killing, maiming and destroying lives at will... Their supreme command is not to be questioned!!!
I believe president Obama, for whom this presidency is basically an internship wherein he may learn the ropes of U.S. foreign affairs either wants to be in a warm embrace with these murderous dictators because he likes the way they have subdued their population and would like to emulate it or he is just an absolute dreamer with grandiose albeit foolish ideas. Given his Harvard degree, the answer to my quandary is just a smidgen on the side of frightening, regardless of the answer.

[speakinup22]

EXCELLENT observations !

Wake up moderates. Elections have consequences !

How is that 'hope and change' working out for ya'll ?

[williamrich1]

I wonder how many would be injured if that same crowd was outside the White House?

[speakinup22]

Maybe a few - but I doubt any shots would be fired. Kent state was a one time lesson for us. The government in Iran has no intention of listening to the rest of the world (sans US) tell them shooting their people protesting is wrong.

Meanwhile barry is probably getting ready for another night on the town.