Thousands of Protesters Clash with Police in Tehran

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20 June 2009

Iranian riot police in large numbers have clashed with thousands of
protesters in the capital, Tehran. Witnesses tell VOA's Persian News
Network that police have used tear gas, batons and water cannon in an
effort to disperse thousands of demonstrators trying to stage protests
against the results from the June 12 presidential election. There are
unconfirmed reports of injuries.  


Iranian government TV
confirmed some incidents Saturday, saying police clashed with what it
called "rioters" who were trying to stage, what it called , "illegal
protests" against presidential election results which gave a landslide
victory to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Witnesses speaking
to VOA Persian News Network and other news agencies say thousands of
residents were in the streets in defiance of warnings by the government.

Witnesses also report a heavy police presence, particularly around two Tehran squares where previous protests were held.

Independent media coverage restricted

Iran
has severely restricted independent media coverage and video and audio
coming into VOA from varied sources cannot be independently verified.

In
a separate incident, Iranian state media reported Saturday that a
suspected suicide bomber exploded near a shrine to the late Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the country's Islamic revolution, with
at least two people hurt.

National Security Council issues warning

Earlier Saturday, Iran's National
Security Council warned defeated presidential candidate Mir Hussein
Mousavi not to hold any further public demonstrations or that he would
be held "responsible for the consequences."

Saturday's street
protests come a day after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, demanded that the opposition put a stop to six days of
massive street protests by tens of thousands of supporters who accuse
the government of election fraud.

Up to 10 percent of vote to be recounted 

A much anticipated session of
Iran's Guardian Council, Saturday, announced, according to Iranian
State TV, that it would "randomly recount up to 10 percent of the
vote," from last Friday's disputed presidential election.

Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad won the election with 63 percent of the vote according to the official count.

All
three defeated candidates protested the election results, but only
hardliner Mohsen Rezaei showed up for the Guardian Council meeting.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had urged all three
opposition candidates to attend.  

Bani Sadr: Iranian people fighting for sovereignty

Former Iranian President
Abolhassan Bani Sadr, who was overthrown and forced into exile in 1981,
says the Iranian people are now fighting for their sovereignty.

He
says that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared war against the people
and against part of his regime, including those who ran in the election
against (President Ahmedinejad), and he says now Iran has a regime that
is against its people. In the end, he says, the people will win.

Khamenei
said on Friday at Tehran University there was a "definite victory" by
President Ahmadinejad on June 12 and said that the president's views on
foreign affairs and social issues were close to his.