Iranian oppositionists clash with police in Tehran
26.12.2009 14:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Iranian security forces clashed with opposition
supporters in southern Tehran on Saturday, as the Islamic Republic
marked an emotive Shi’ite religious ritual.

"A large group of people and security forces clashed in the Pol-e
Choubi area while people were marching," Jaras website said.

The report could not be independently confirmed, as foreign media have
been banned from reporting directly on protests. The same website
earlier reported that hundreds of riot police were deployed in central
Tehran.

The reported incident occurred as people around Iran marked the day of
Tasoua with religious ceremonies which peak on Sunday, when Shi’ite
Muslims commemorate the 7th century death of Imam Hossein in a battle
that sealed the schism between Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims. Hossein was
a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad.

Tension has been mounting in Iran after last Saturday night’s death of
leading dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a
fierce critic of the clerical establishment who called the disputed
June election fraudulent, Reuters reported.