In Tehran, an eerie calm as death toll jumps to 19

EDITORS' NOTE:

Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the …

By Nasser Karimi And William J. Kole, Associated Press Writers

June 21, 2009

TEHRAN, Iran –

An eerie calm settled over the streets of Tehran Sunday as state media reported at least 10 more deaths in post-election unrest and said authorities arrested the daughter and four other relatives of ex-President Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of Iran's most powerful men.

The reports brought the official death toll for a week of boisterous confrontations to at least 19. State television inside Iran said 10 were killed and 100 injured in clashes Saturday between demonstrators contesting the result of the June 12 election and black-clad police wielding truncheons, tear gas and water cannons.

Iran's regime continued to impose a blackout on the country's most serious internal conflict since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

But fresh images and allegations of brutality emerged as Iranians at home and abroad sought to shed light on a week of astonishing resistance to hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The New-York based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said scores of injured demonstrators who had sought medical treatment after Saturday's clashes were arrested by security forces at hospitals in the capital.

It said doctors had been ordered to report protest-related injuries to the authorities, and that some seriously injured protesters had sought refuge at foreign embassies in a bid to evade arrest.

"The arrest of citizens seeking care for wounds suffered at the hands of security forces when they attempted to exercise rights guaranteed under their own constitution and international law is deplorable," said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesman for the campaign, denouncing the alleged arrests as "a sign of profound disrespect by the state for the well-being of its own people."

State-run Press TV reported that Rafsanjani's eldest daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, and four other family members were arrested late Saturday. It did not identify the other four.

Last week, state television showed images of Hashemi, 46, speaking to hundreds of supporters of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. After her appearance, hard-line students gathered outside the Tehran prosecutor's office and accused her of treason, state radio reported.

Rafsanjani, 75, has made no secret of his distaste for Ahmadinejad, whose re-election victory in a June 12 vote was disputed by Mousavi. Ahmadinejad has accused Rafsanjani and his family of corruption.

The influential Rafsanjani now heads two very powerful groups. The most important one is the Assembly of Experts, made up of senior clerics who can elect and dismiss the supreme leader. The second is the Expediency Council, a body that arbitrates disputes between parliament and the unelected Guardian Council, which can block legislation.

His daughter's arrest came as something of a surprise: Just Friday, Khamenei had praised Rafsanjani as one of the architects of the revolution and an effective political figure for many years. Khamenei acknowledged, however, that the two have "many differences of opinion."

Thousands of supporters of Mousavi, who claims he won the election, squared off Saturday against security forces in a dramatic show of defiance of Khamenei.

Underscoring how the protesters have become emboldened despite the regime's repeated and ominous warnings, witnesses said some shouted "Death to Khamenei!" at Saturday's demonstrations — another sign of once unthinkable challenges to the virtually limitless authority of the country's most powerful figure.

Sunday's state media reports also said rioters set two gas stations on fire and attacked a military post in clashes Saturday. They quoted the deputy police chief claiming officers did not use live ammunition to dispel the crowds.

Iran has also acknowledged the deaths of seven protesters in clashes on Monday.

State media also reported a suicide bombing at the shrine of the Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Saturday killed the attacker and injured five other people.

There was some confusion about the death toll. English-language Press TV, which is broadcast only outside the country, put the toll at 13 and labeled those who died "terrorists." There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.

Amnesty International cautioned that it was "perilously hard" to verify the casualty tolls.

"The climate of fear has cast a shadow over the whole situation," Amnesty's chief Iran researcher, Drewery Dyke, told The Associated Press. "In the 10 years I've been following this country, I've never felt more at sea than I do now. It's just cut off."

Iran has imposed strict controls on foreign media covering the unrest, saying correspondents cannot go out into the streets to report.

Reporters Without Borders said 20 journalists were arrested over the past week. The British Broadcasting Corp. said Sunday that its Tehran-based correspondent, Jon Leyne, had been asked to leave the country. The BBC said its office remained open.

Also Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki held a news conference where he rebuked Britain, France and Germany for raising questions about reports of voting irregularities in hardline Ahmadinejad's re-election — a proclaimed victory which has touched off Iran's most serious internal conflict since the revolution.

Mottaki accused France of taking "treacherous and unjust approaches." But he saved his most pointed criticism for Britain, raising a litany of historical grievances and accusing the country of flying intelligence agents into Iran before the election to interfere with the vote. The election, he insisted, was a "very transparent competition."

That drew an indignant response from British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who "categorically" denied his country was meddling. "This can only damage Iran's standing in the eyes of the world," Miliband said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, meanwhile, urged Iran anew to conduct a complete and transparent recount, and Italy called on the regime to find a peaceful end to the dispute.

In Washington on Saturday, President Barack Obama urged Iranian authorities to halt "all violent and unjust actions against its own people." He said the United States "stands by all who seek to exercise" the universal rights to assembly and free speech.

Obama has offered to open talks with Iran to ease a nearly 30-year diplomatic freeze, but the upheaval could complicate any attempts at outreach.

Israeli President Shimon Peres applauded Iran's pro-reform protesters Sunday, saying the young should "raise their voice for freedom" — an explicit message of support from a country that sees itself as most endangered by the hard-line government in Tehran.

Saturday's unrest came a day after Khamenei sternly warned Mousavi and his backers to all off demonstrations or risk being held responsible for "bloodshed, violence and rioting." Delivering a sermon at Friday prayers attended by tens of thousands, Khamenei sided firmly with Ahmadinejad, calling the result "an absolute victory" that reflected popular will and ordering opposition leaders to end their street protests.

Mousavi did not directly reply to the ultimatum.

His camp, meanwhile, denied reports that he had proclaimed himself ready for martyrdom on Saturday.

"Mousavi has never said this," his close ally, Qorban Behzadiannejad, told the AP. Mousavi's Web site also said statements that Mousavi was preparing for death were inaccurate.

A police commander sharpened the message Saturday. Gen. Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghadam said more than a week of unrest and marches had become "exhausting, bothersome and intolerable." He threatened a more "serious confrontation" if protesters return.

On Sunday, former reformist president Mohammad Khatami called for the formation of a board to decide the outcome of the disputed election, and urged the release of detained activists and an end to the violence in the streets.

The government has blocked Web sites such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and several pro-Mousavi sites used by Iranians to tell the world about protests and violence. Text messaging has not been working in Iran since last week, and cell phone service in Tehran is frequently down.

But that won't stifle the opposition networks, said Sami Al Faraj, president of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies.

"They can resort to whispering ... they can do it the old-fashioned way," he said.

____

Kole reported from Cairo. Associated Press Writers Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Sebastian Abbot in Cairo contributed to this report.

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Iran blames "terrorists" for clashes

Sun Jun 21, 2009 9:24am EDT

By Parisa Hafezi and Fredrik Dahl

TEHRAN (Reuters) -

Iranian authorities on Sunday blamed "terrorists" for clashes in which at least 10 people were killed and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the West to stay out of unrest sparked by his disputed re-election.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

In a sign of increased opposition among clerics to the Islamic Republic's leadership, Mohammad Khatami, a moderate former president, warned that banning protests in support of defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi was a dangerous move.

"Preventing people from expressing their demands through civil ways will have dangerous consequences (for the country)," Khatami, a Mousavi ally, said in a statement, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

Iran state television said 10 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in protests held in Tehran on Saturday in defiance of a stern warning by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A separate report put the number of deaths at 13.

State television said the violence included the torching of a mosque, which it blamed on "rioters."

"In the unrest leading to clashes 10 people were killed and more than 100 wounded," it said. "The presence of terrorists ... in yesterday's event in Enghelab and Azadi avenues was tangible."

The harshness of the language suggested the authorities may be preparing for a crackdown to end more than a week of protest.

The disputed June 12 election handed an overwhelming victory to the hardline, anti-Western Ahmadinejad sparking the biggest protests and most violent unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution which ousted the U.S.-backed shah.

Mousavi, who came second to Ahmadinejad in the poll and whose followers have spearheaded protests, says the election was rigged and must be annulled.

WEST ACCUSED

State television suggested that only the West stood to gain from the unrest and Ahmadinejad accused Washington and London of interfering in Iran's affairs.

"I advise you (the United States and Britain) to correct your interfering stances," Ahmadinejad was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying at a meeting with clerics and scholars.

U.S. President Barack Obama, in the forefront of diplomatic efforts to halt an Iranian nuclear program the West fears could yield atomic weapons, urged Tehran to "stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people."

"The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost," Obama said in a statement

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband rejected Ahmadinejad's charge. "The UK is categorical that it is for the Iranian people to choose their government," he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a statement, urged the Iranian leadership to allow peaceful protests and conduct a recount of votes cast in the election.

There were no immediate reports of protests in Tehran on Sunday. Government restrictions prevent correspondents working for foreign media from attending demonstrations to report.

Riot police were deployed in force on Saturday, firing teargas and using batons and water cannon to disperse groups of several hundred Iranians who had gathered across the city.

CLERIC CRITICISES

The most senior dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, added his voice to critics of the leadership, calling for three days of national mourning for those killed, a statement on his website said.

"Resisting people's demand is religiously prohibited," said Montazeri, an architect of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution who fell out with the present leadership and has been under house arrest for some years.

The hard-hitting statements by Khatami and Montazeri signaled increased opposition to Khamenei's approval of the official election result.

State TV announced the arrests of members of the Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO), an exiled opposition group which it accused of "terrorist activities" including setting buses on fire and destroying public property.

The daughter of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani -- a rival of Ahmadinejad -- was also among those detained during an opposition rally in Tehran on Saturday, Fars news agency, citing a security official, said. She appeared to have been later released.

The authorities reject charges of election fraud. But the highest legislative body has said it is ready to recount a random 10 percent of votes cast.

Khatami was skeptical. "Referring the dispute to a body which has not been impartial regarding the vote, is not a solution," he said in a statement, Mehr reported.

Mousavi on Saturday said the Islamic Republic must be purged of "lies and deviations" and told supporters he was "ready for martyrdom," according to an ally. But he said he did not seek confrontation with the authorities.

In Paris, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said tensions in Iran had added to risks facing the world economy and underlined the need for strengthening the global financial system.

"Any additional geo-strategic tension is obviously an extra risk for the international economy," he told Europe 1 radio.

In London, the BBC confirmed that Iran had ordered the broadcaster's correspondent, Jon Leyne, out of the country.

(Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl and Zahra Hosseinian, James McKenzie in Paris, Brian Rohan in Berlin; Writing by Richard Balmforth; Editing by Jon Hemming