Iran says foreign interference behind unrest

·Iran's FMi said Tuesday foreign interference were behind recent unrest and anti-gov't protests. ·"We strongly condemn such actions," said FM spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast. ·He said that the West made a miscalculation again by siding with the anti-gov't protestors.

    TEHRAN, Dec. 29, 2009, (Xinhua) --

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday that foreign interference were behind recent unrest and anti-government protests in Tehran and other cities in Iran.

    Speaking to reporters at a weekly press conference, Mehmanparast said, "We strongly condemn such actions," adding that this kind of interference violates the values and principals of all countries.

    He said that the Western countries made a miscalculation again by siding with the anti-government protestors.

    "They prefer backing some thousand people to supporting a whole nation of 70,000,000 people," he said, adding that Britain's ambassador in Tehran would be summoned.

    Sporadic clashes were seen in some parts of downtown Tehran on Sunday and police forces fired shots into the air and tear gas to disperse the protestors, local satellite Press TV reported.

    Pro-government demonstrators also took to the streets to protest against the opposition, shouting slogans in support of the government, the report said.

    "Eight people have been killed in anti-government protests," Iran's Supreme National Security Council was quoted as saying by Press TV on Monday.

Iran's speaker urges "most severe punishment" for Ashoura Day protesters

    TEHRAN, Dec. 29, 2009, (Xinhua) --

Iran's Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani urged "most severe punishment" for Ashoura Day anti-government protesters, the local satellite Press TV reported on Tuesday.

    "Majlis calls on officials at the Interior and Intelligence Ministries and the Judiciary to arrest the desecraters of the religion and to administer the most severe punishment for these anti-government individuals," Larijani was quoted as saying.

    Sporadic clashes were seen in some parts of downtown Tehran on Sunday and police forces fired into the air and used tear gas to disperse anti-government protestors, according to the reports of Press TV.

    Ashoura is the mourning day among Shiite Muslims to mark the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, who was killed and buried in Karbala in 680 AD.

    Mourners from Iran and some other countries generally clad in black take to the streets or gather in mosques to commemorate the day.

    Iran's religious officials consider the unrest on the day as the desecration of religious values.

Eight killed in Tehran clashes: state TV

·Death toll in Sunday's clashes in Tehran rose to eight. ·An Iranian reformist website said Mousavi's nephew was killed during the clashes. ·Unrest took place as Iranians held rallies to commemorate Shiite Muslim ritual of Ashoura.

    TEHRAN, Dec. 28, 2009 (Xinhua) --

Death toll in Sunday's clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces in Tehran rose to eight, Iran's state-run satellite channel Press TV reported Monday.

    "Eight people have been killed in anti-government protests," Iran's Supreme National Security Council was quoted as saying.

    But the report did not give the details of the deaths.

    On Sunday, Iran's police confirmed that five people were killed and more than 300 others arrested during the clashes in Tehran.

    "Five people were killed in suspicious circumstances ... and experts are trying to identify the suspects," the official IRNA news agency quoted a statement by the Tehran police as saying.

    Iran's deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan said earlier Sunday that police were not involved in the killings and the incidents were under investigation, according to Press TV.

    "One died after falling from a bridge, two others were run over by cars and the fourth was shot dead by unknown assailants," Radanwas quoted as saying.

    An Iranian reformist website said earlier that the nephew of Iran's opposition leader and defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi was killed during the clashes.

    "Ali Mousavi was shot near his heart today at noon and died later in a Tehran hospital," said Parlemannews, a website run by the Iranian parliament's minority reformist faction.

    The unrest took place as millions of Iranians held rallies on Sunday across the country to commemorate the Shiite Muslim ritual of Ashoura.

    Sporadic clashes were seen in some parts of downtown Tehran on Sunday and police forces fired shots into the air and tear gas to disperse protestors, Press TV reported.

    Meanwhile, pro-government demonstrators also took to the streets to protest against the opposition, shouting slogans in support of the government, Press TV said.

    State television footage showed large crowds of people gathered in every major Iranian cities to commemorate Ashoura, which marks the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, who was killed and buried in Karbala in 680 AD.

    The Ashoura ritual is performed in Iran and some other countries with large populations of Shiite Muslims. During the annual Ashoura commemorations, mourners, generally dressed in black, took to the streets or gathered in mosques to grieve over the death of Hussein.

Editor: Zhang Xiang