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Iranian security personnel gather on a street in Tehran - Source: Reuters -
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Iranian authorities said they would teach a lesson to rioters
held in the worst unrest to befall the country since the 1979
Islamic Revolution.
A moderate cleric defeated in this month's disputed elections
called on Iranians to hold ceremonies to mourn those killed at
protests over the last week.
Trucks and police in riot gear were deployed on the main squares of
Tehran, but there were no signs of any protest gatherings in the
city by midday.
The Revolutionary Guard, loyal to the country's conservative
religious establishment, have declared a crackdown on protests
triggered by elections that gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a
landslide victory.
Hundreds have been detained by police using tear gas and batons
since results were published on June 13.
"Those arrested in recent events will be dealt with in a way that
will teach them a lesson," the official IRNA news agency quoted
senior judiciary official Ebrahim Raisi as saying on state
television late on Monday.
He said a special court was studying the cases.
"The rioters should be dealt with in an exemplary way and the
judiciary will do that," Raisi said.
Two losing candidates, ex-prime minister Mirhossein Mousavi and
pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi, accuse authorities of vote rigging
and have demanded a rerun.
But the top legislative body, the Guardian Council, ruled this
out again on Tuesday.
The troubles have produced the first clear evidence of a public
split in the clerical establishment between hardliners and those
seeking more liberal policies.
An Iranian parliamentarian, Mahmoud Ahmadi, said on Tuesday Tehran
would temporarily recall its ambassador to Britain, which the
leading oil and gas producer has accused of fomenting trouble.
A senior Iranian government source did not confirm the report
carried by several Iranian news agencies.
Nuclear programme
Moderate cleric Mehdi Karoubi maintained pressure on
authorities.
"Karoubi calls on Iranians around the country to hold ceremonies on
Thursday to remember those (killed) at protests," said aide Issa
Saharkhiz.
The troubles have erupted against a background of tension between
the
West and Iran
, a major factor
in regional stability.
Tehran's hard-line leadership is locked in dispute with Western
powers over its nuclear programme, which it says is intended for
power generation but which the West suspects could yield nuclear
weapons that could destabilise the region.
State television said more than 450 people were detained during
clashes with police in Tehran on Saturday in which at least 10
people were killed.
In New York, UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
urged an immediate
stop to the use of force against civilians and said Iran should
respect civil rights in dealing with protests.
People in Tehran, in a gesture of defiance first used in the 1979
Islamic revolution and now adopted by pro-reform protesters, again
chanted Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) from their rooftops at
nightfall on Monday.
Supporters of Mousavi, who says he seeks to purge the Islamic
Republic of lies and deceit exposed during the elections, gathered
in Tehran's Haft-e Tir square on Monday in defiance of a ban on
demonstrations.
Iran's state Press TV channel said they were dispersed.
Residents said riot police, some on motorbikes, and members of the
religious Basij militia were out in force.
One witness said that from his balcony he had seen a group of
protesters chanting slogans being attacked by the Basij, who
dragged the demonstrators out of a house to which they had
fled.
"The Basiji were really aggressive and swearing at me to go
inside," said the witness, who declined to be identified.
Iranian state television said on Tuesday Tehran had been calm for a
second night.
"The presence of police and Basij forces in parts of the city
has raised people's feeling of security," IRIB said.
Mousavi called on Sunday for new protests by his supporters in open
defiance of senior religious leaders.
UN reaction
A UN statement issued by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office
said he urged the authorities to respect fundamental civil and
political rights, especially the freedom of expression, freedom of
assembly and freedom of information.
Ban urged the government and opposition to resolve their
differences peacefully through dialogue and legal means.
Iranians on social networking sites called for mourning for Neda, a
young woman shot dead on Saturday.
Footage of her death has been watched by thousands on the
internet and her image has become an icon of the protests.
Witnesses said security officials prevented her funeral from going
ahead, blocking roads leading to a central Tehran mosque where the
ceremony was to have taken place.
"Police were spraying paint on the cars of those who insisted on
driving towards the mosque," said one witness.
Her fiance Caspian Makan told BBC Persian TV that Neda Agha-Soltan
had been caught up accidentally in the protests.
"She was near the area, a few streets away, from where the main
protests were taking place, near the Amir Abad area. She was with
her music teacher, sitting in a car and stuck in traffic," it
quoted him as saying.
"She was feeling very tired and very hot. She got out of the car
for just a few minutes."
EDITORS' NOTE: REUTERS AND OTHER FOREIGN MEDIA ARE SUBJECT TO IRANIAN RESTRICTIONS ON THEIR ABILITY TO REPORT, FILM OR TAKE PICTURES IN TEHRAN
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