'At least 19 killed by gov't forces in Iran clashes Saturday'




CNN on Saturday night reported that at least 19 people had died as a result of gunfire from government forces during the demonstrations in Teheran, Shiraz and Isfehan. The news network based the report on eyewitness accounts of medical officials in Teheran's hospitals.




CNN also quoted unconfirmed reports that put the actual death toll at 150.

A week of massive street protests over the results of Iran's presidential elections escalated into open defiance of the entire regime on Saturday, when thousands took to the streets of Teheran chanting "Death to the Dictatorship."

Ignoring the Friday warning by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to call off the protests and accept the official contention that incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the June 12 elections, Reformist opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi insistently renewed his demand that the vote be annulled, and indicated that he was prepared for "martyrdom" should he lose his life as a consequence of his and his supporters' defiance.


Iran's English-language state TV said that a suicide bombing at the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, south of Teheran, had killed one person - the bomber - and wounded eight. But the report could be not independently evaluated due to government restrictions on journalists.




Some sources in Teheran said they believed the bombing was either a fabrication or was staged by the regime, in a bid to stir outrage among Iranians who deeply revere the Shi'ite cleric who led the 1979 revolution that toppled the US-backed shah.

"The bombing at the mausoleum never happened," said one contact. "If it had, the state media would show the damage. There is no proof… The regime is going to use this as a pretext to go after Mousavi."

In Washington, President Barack Obama on Saturday challenged Iran's government to halt the "violent and unjust" crackdown on dissenters, using his bluntest language yet to condemn Teheran's post-election response.

"We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people," Obama said in a written statement. "The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights."

In a letter Saturday to Iran's Guardian Council, which investigates voting fraud allegations, Mousavi said some ballot boxes had been sealed before voting began in the disputed elections. He also said thousands of his representatives had been expelled from polling stations and some mobile polling stations had boxes filled with fake ballots.

"The Iranian nation will not believe this unjust and illegal" act, Mousavi said in the letter, which was posted on one of his official Web sites.

Mousavi did not make clear in the letter whether he endorsed the ongoing street protests in the wake of Khamenei's ominous demand Friday that opposition leaders put an end to the rallies or be held responsible for "the bloodshed, the violence and rioting" to come.

Khamenei's statement during Friday prayers effectively closed the door to Mousavi's demand for a new election.

Eyewitnesses said thousands of police and plainclothes militia members filled the streets Saturday, blocking protesters from gathering on the main thoroughfare running east from Revolution Square to Freedom Square.

English-language state TV confirmed that police used batons and other non-lethal weapons against what it called unauthorized demonstrations.

Amateur video showed dozens of Iranians running down a street after police fired tear gas. Shouts of "Allahu Akbar!" could be heard on the video, which could not be independently verified.

Helicopters hovered overhead, ambulances raced through the streets and black smoke rose over the city.

The witnesses told The Associated Press that between 50 and 60 protesters were hospitalized after beatings by police and pro-government militia. People could be seen dragging away comrades bloodied by baton strikes.


Teheran University, in the heart of downtown Teheran, was cordoned off by police and militia while students inside the university chanted "Death to the dictator!" witnesses said.

Shouts of "Viva Mousavi!" also could be heard. Witnesses said protesters wore black as a symbol of mourning for the dead and the allegedly stolen election, with wristbands in green, the emblem of Mousavi's self-described "Green Wave" movement.

All witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared government reprisals for speaking with the press. Iranian authorities have placed strict limits on the ability of foreign media to cover recent events, banning reporting from the street and allowing only phone interviews and information from officials sources such as state TV.

Police clashed with protesters around Teheran immediately after the presidential election. Gunfire from a militia compound left at least seven dead, with some reports putting the death toll above 30.

"I think the regime has taken an enormous risk in confronting this situation in the manner that they have," said Mehrdad Khonsari, a consultant to the London-based Center for Arab and Iranian Studies.

"Now they'll have to hold their ground and hope that people don't keep coming back. But history has taught us that people in these situations lose their initial sense of fear and become emboldened by brutality," he said.




Both houses of the US Congress approved a resolution on Friday condemning "the ongoing violence" by the Iranian government and its suppression of the Internet and cell phones.

The government has blocked Web sites such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and several pro-Mousavi sites that are conduits for Iranians to tell the world about protests and violence.

Text messaging has not been working normally for many days, and cell phone service in Teheran is frequently down.

In an interview taped Friday with CBS, Obama said he is very concerned by the "tenor and tone" of Khamenei's comments. He also said that how Iran's leaders "approach and deal with people who are, through peaceful means, trying to be heard" will signal "what Iran is and is not."

A spokesman for Mousavi said Friday the opposition leader was not under arrest but was not allowed to speak to journalists or stand at a microphone at rallies. Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf told the AP from Paris it was even becoming difficult to reach people close to Mousavi. He said he had not heard from Mousavi's camp since Khamenei's address.

In his speech Friday, Khamenei blamed the United States, Britain and "other enemies" for fomenting unrest. He said Iran would not see a second revolution like those that transformed the countries of the former Soviet Union.

He said the election outcome was a vindication of the Islamic Republic and an earthquake for its enemies. "If the people did not trust in the system they would not participate in it," he said. "Iran's enemies are targeting the beliefs and trust of the people."

He said: "These divisions come from the Zionist radio and the bad British radio trying to change the meaning of the election."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other European Union leaders expressed dismay over the threat of a crackdown. The British Foreign Office told Iran's charge d'affairs in London that Khamenei's comments were "unacceptable and had no basis in fact," a spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with policy.

Obama has sought a measured reaction to avoid being drawn in as a meddler in Iranian affairs, but his comments have grown more pointed as the clashes intensified.

"Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away," the president said on Saturday, recalling a theme from the speech he gave in Cairo this month.

"The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government," Obama said. "If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion."

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It is sad to see but if they are battling for the democracy that they want, we did our battles here for the same, it will be worth it in the end if they win.

The genie is out of the bottle they will never stop until they get what they want.

why do I suspect the US won't stay out of it?

There are reports of Iranian protesters chanting Obamas name. I thought the republicans said that Obama was a dictator. Why would the people of Iran be fighting for democracy and chanting for a dictator?

The Iranian people want us to stay out of it until asked. Our goverment is the ones that screwed up relations between our two countries in the first place when we supported the dictator Shah,then tried to keep them from being free, and also gave Saddam Hussein biological weapons to kill them with. The Iranians have never done us any harm

Hopefully we won't attack them again like we did when they had their last Revolution

What's sad is that so many people are under the thumb of one or two men, and the soldiers who are citizens themselves do their bidding.

If I was a soldier I would find it difficult to harm my own fellow citizens, but I guess that is what brainwashing does.

Just as with north Korea, the people are powerless against their leader and his army.

It's one reason I never want to see the armed forces here have that much power over their own kind.

If I am wrong, feel free to enlighten me.

Its much more complicated than that. Iran is a democracy but the republican faction of their country has just stoled an election and the people are sick of their crap. The protesters and most of the people are the liberals fighting against the crappy republican goverment they have had for the last few years. The goverment and police forces is also split

This is the biggest story of the year

I agree and I hope we stay out of it.

We dont have any diplomatic relations with Iran. All we ever do is threaten to kill them and give other countries biological weapons to use against them.

and we are still doing that. Hilary sure talks tough lately. Same with N Korea. why should we get into it as much as we are? there are countries closer to them that should do something IMO

Here is the full story


Basically 911 happened and then George Bush started threatening to kill Iranians and calling them evil and terrorists, even though they had no part in 911 and mourned with us about all the loss of life. This scared the Iranian people because they thought we were going to attack them again with WMD (like we did in the 80s)except this time we would nuke them. So, the people of Iran elected a neocon republican named Achdemenijad.President Achdemenijad was a crappy leader basically the same as George Bush Jr.He has a big mouth,likes to talk tough,and threatens other countries, and screws everything up just like President Bush. The Iranian people are sick of him wrecking there foreign relations and economy and since George Bush is out of office in the U.S. now they feel safer and decided to elect a much more liberal president.The right wingers rigged the election so that Achdamenijad would win in a landslide and all the Iranian people know its a sham and so they are throwing the bums out just like we did the republicans here.

We oppressed the people of Iran in the 70s when we backed the dictator Shah.Then when they overthrew him,we gave Saddam Hussein biological and chemical weapons to use against the Iranians when he attacked them. Then after 9-11 we called Iran evil and terrorists and Bush repeatedly threatened them although the Iranians have never done anything to us.

I know the history of it...just wish we'd stop repeating history.

that's pretty accurate.

but if we hadn't have promoted Pahlavi (who was a legitimate heir to the Peacock Throne) then the Soviets would have taken over like they did in Poland and Checkoslovakia. Iran (at the time) was on the border of the Soviet Union and they desperately wanted it