Rumors Swirl Of New Tehran Protests

Opposition Leader's Web Site Says Demonstration Planned Outside Parliament, Despite Supreme Leader's Vow Not To Give In

(CBS/AP)  Iran's supreme leader said Wednesday that the government would not give in to pressure over the disputed presidential election, effectively closing the door to compromise with the opposition.

Reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi's official Web site said nonetheless that a protest was planned outside Iran's parliament Wednesday afternoon. It distanced him at the same time, calling the demonstration independent and saying it had not been organized by Mousavi.

The mixed messages reflected the dilemma facing the unlikely opposition leader, a longtime supporter of Iran's government thrust to the head of a pro-democracy protest movement.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered protests to end, leaving Mousavi with the choice of restraining followers or continuing to directly challenge the country's ultimate authority despite threats of escalating force.

Unconfirmed reports on social networking site Twitter said that police were clashing with demonstrators in Baharestan Square, near the parliament building. Iran's severe restrictions on Western journalists make confirming those reports very difficult.

IranWatch: Track the latest on the Iran election upheaval.

Mousavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, said on one of his Web sites that the government crackdown on protests was "as if martial law has been imposed in the streets."

Rahnavard, who campaigned beside her husband, said that opposition supporters had a constitutional right to protest. She also called for the release of all activists and others arrested at protests.

Mousavi, a former prime minister, saw his campaign transform into a protest movement after the government declared that hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the overwhelming winner of the June 12 election.

Mousavi said the result was fraudulent and Western analysts who have examined available data on the vote said there were indications of manipulation.

His supporters flooded the streets of Tehran and other cities after the vote, massing by the hundreds of thousands in protests larger than any since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Security forces initially stood by and permitted the demonstrations.

Khamenei ordered an end to protests on Friday and security forces beat protesters and fired tear gas and water cannons at rallies the next day. At least 10 protesters were shot, according to official tallies.

An unconfirmed report stated that the country's powerful, 86-member Assembly of Experts - headed by former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani - is split in its support for Khamenei and Ahmadinejad. However, neither is expected to lose their positions.

Khamenei's comments come on the heels of a conservative candidate withdrawing his complaints about voting fraud for the sake of the country, state television reported.

The announcement by Mohsen Rezaie, a former commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, moved the cleric-led government one step closer to a final declaration of victory for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. State TV reported that Ahmadinejad would be sworn in sometime between July 26 and Aug. 19.

State media have said that at least 17 people have been killed in post-election unrest. Amateur footage of a 27-year-old woman bleeding to death from a gunshot on a Tehran street unleashed outrage at home and abroad.

In weighing the direction of the protests, Mousavi appeared to be trying a compromise approach: He has made no public appearances since Thursday but he has issued strongly worded statements calling for supporters to continue demonstrations.

The protest set for Wednesday could set the stage for new confrontation.

"On the current situation, I was insisting and will insist on implementation of the law. That means, we will not go one step beyond the law," Khamenei said on state television. "For sure, neither the system nor the people will give in to pressures at any price." He used language that indicated he was referring to domestic pressures.

He told opposition supporters to halt their protests and blamed the U.S., Britain and other foreign powers for instigating unrest.

Iran also said that it was considering downgrading ties with Britain, which it has accused of spying and fomenting days of unprecedented street protests over the vote.

The government accused Britain of using spies to foment the unprecedented street protests and Iran expelled two British diplomats Tuesday. Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that two Iranian diplomats were being sent home in retaliation.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was asked about the option of reducing diplomatic relations with London after a Cabinet meeting in Tehran.

"We are studying it," Mottaki said, according to state television.

On Tuesday, President Obama hardened his rhetoric on the crackdown, saying the world was "appalled and outraged".

"I have made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not interfering in Iran's affairs," Mr. Obama said. "But we must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society."

Mr. Obama had been avoiding harsh condemnation of Iran's government, which often labels domestic unrest as the work of foreign agents.

Iran expelled two diplomats from Britain - a nation it bitterly accuses of meddling and spying - and Britain in turn sent two Iranian envoys home. There was no immediate word Wednesday on any Iranian reaction to the speech by Mr. Obama, who had been trying to warm relations with the Islamic Republic.

[taxchurches]

Yay! Wave a sign, break stuff. Ali Khamenei cares even less than Bush did in 2000. What possible difference is this going to make? Humorously, though, the same people who are cheering the Iranians on are the ones who called the Democrats sore losers and cry babies nine years ago. That, of course, is the object lesson Americans should be learning here, and which, of course, they are not.

[DaVicar5]

When did Obama control the people of Iran, or their destiny? -------------------- by hungry1968-15




Probably when he signed up as a card-carrying Muslim!

[Sloughfoot]

"Reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi's" is Media hype to describe a poor loser. Mousavi is not a reformer or a revolutionist but another Iranian politician who lost an election by hook or by crook. Mousavi did not just come riding out of the clouds to save the Iranian people and to champion free thought, free speech or freedom from reprisal. His track record is in fact contrary to all those ideals. I grieve for the young people who have become cannon fodder for this "Old Guard/Old Goat".

[hungry1968-15]

by government_control June 24, 2009 7:20 AM PDT
People of Iran --- OBAMA HAS ABANDONED YOU







When did Obama control the people of Iran, or their destiny?

[government_control]

People of Iran --- OBAMA HAS ABANDONED YOU

[mjm117]

Obama hasn't abandoned anyone you jackal. In fact, Obama could do nothing right in your eyes, because you will take any circumstance and spin it. You crucify Obama for pre-election comments of a dialogue with Ahmadinejad, yet now you want us to step in. You don't see any truth in Obama unwillingness to hinder the movement in Iran? You don't believe that the entire nation of Iran would turn and join forces if we were to "step in"?

I 100% support the Iranian movement, however I also 100% support us not being involved.