Police have clashed with opposition supporters in the Iranian capital, Tehran, witnesses and state media say.
Police used tear gas and batons, said witnesses. Unconfirmed reports said the authorities had also opened fire.
Video posted on a reformist website showed hundreds of opposition supporters chanting "death to dictators" in a central square.
It came as an officially backed demonstration was held to mark 30 years since the seizure of the US embassy.
Thousands of people turned out for the anti-American rally, about 1.5km (0.9 miles) from where opposition supporters gathered in Haft-e Tir square.
Riot police and pro-government militiamen had packed the streets in central Tehran, and security forces had made a number of arrests, reports said.
Iran's Irna news agency said protesters had set fire to rubbish bins and attacked a bus, and that two policemen had been injured.
It also reported that security forces had used tear gas in some parts of the city to disperse protesters.
Authorities have placed severe restrictions on foreign news organisations, making it difficult to verify reports.
Obama statement
Reformist leaders had urged their supporters to attend peaceful rallies at the former US embassy. In November 1979, 52 US diplomats were taken hostage at the embassy and held for 444 days by Islamist students in support of the Iranian revolution.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards had warned opposition groups not to stage demonstrations on the anniversary.
Thousands turned out for the anti-American rally
Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi briefly joined the protesters in Haft-e Tir square, according to a reformist website, Mowjcamp.
Unconfirmed reports were circulating that police had surrounded the house of another reformist leader, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, to prevent him from joining any demonstration.
Since June, Iranian opposition supporters have held repeated protests over elections they say were rigged to ensure the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
At least 30 protesters have been killed in clashes and thousands arrested.
Some 200 opposition activists remain behind bars. Three have been sentenced to death.
On Wednesday's anniversary of the seizure of the US embassy, US President Barack Obama released a statement in which he urged Iran to move beyond the "suspicion, mistrust, and confrontation" that had prevailed between Iran and the US since then.
"Iran must choose," the statement said. "We have heard for 30 years what the Iranian government is against; the question now is what kind of future it is for."
0 comments:
Post a Comment