At least eight Iranian protesters were reported to have been shot dead in Tehran today — including a nephew of the opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi — during the fiercest protests in the capital since the immediate aftermath of June’s hotly disputed presidential election.
The shootings mean that the confrontation between the so-called Green movement and the regime has entered a dangerous and volatile new stage, with the security forces prepared to use lethal force in an increasingly desperate effort to crush a resurgent and emboldened opposition.
A close aide to Mr Mousavi, the former Prime Minister defeated by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June election, said that his 35-year-old nephew, Ali Mousavi, died in a Tehran hospital after being shot in the chest near Enghelab Square. A reliable opposition website,Parlemannews, also reported his death.
Details of the shootings were sparse, but one of the dead was said to be an elderly man and another a young woman, both killed when the security forces opened fire on the huge crowds of protesters that had gathered in central Tehran for the emotionally charged Shia festival of Ashura.
The Iranian state broadcaster said that about 300 people had been arrested during the protests.
A photograph posted on the internet showed a man with blood pouring from head wounds being dragged away by opposition supporters. Two other demonstrators were reportedly wounded. The shootings of the protesters were the first since June 20.
Another opposition website, Rahesabz, said that the security forces opened fire after failing to disperse the crowds with tear gas, charges by baton-wielding officers and warning shots fired into the air.
"Three of our compatriots were martyred and two were injured in clashes. The reporter who was on the scene said these three were directly shot at by military forces," the website reported. It said the shootings clashes occurred near Enghelab street.
Rahesabz said that a fourth protester was later killed near the junctions of Vali Asr and Enghelab streets. "The people are carrying the body of this martyr and are shouting slogans," it said.
However, one opposition website, Jaras, claimed that some police officers were refusing orders to shoot at protesters. "Some of them try to shoot into air when pressured by their commanders," it said.
Ashura commemorates the 7th-century martyrdom of Imam Hossein, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, at the hands of the Sunni caliph Yazid.
Today also marks the seventh day since the death of Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, the opposition’s spiritual leader, which is an important day in Shia mourning tradition.
That coincidence served to heighten passions, and both sides appeared far more aggressive than in other demonstrations of recent months.
The security forces used tear gas, batons, chains as well as live fire while helicopters hovered overhead. Thousands of government supporters staged counter-demonstrations.
During clashes on Saturday, government supporters disrupted a speech that the reformist former President Mohammad Khatami was due to address, and attacked nearby offices used by the family of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei, the founder of the Islamic Republic. Leading members of the family support the opposition.
The demonstrators broke through cordons, blocked streets to thwart motorbike charges by basij militiamen, set alight cars and motorbikes belonging to the militia, caught police officers and stripped them of their uniforms and arms, according to opposition websites.
They chanted slogans comparing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, to the caliph Yazid, an act that was unthinkable until recently, and showed how the protests are no longer against the disputed election but the regime itself. “Yazid will be overthrown", "Hussein, Hussein is our slogan. Being a martyr is our pride” and “Khameini is a murderer — his rule is doomed,” they chanted.
Large protests were also said to be taking place in Shiraz, Isfahan and other cities. Last Monday, the holy city of Qom was convulsed by a huge demonstration to commemorate Montazeri. Opposition activists claim that the unrest is spreading both geographically across Iran, and socially to classes that previously supported President Ahmadinejad.
The regime took down much of the mobile phone network, slowed internet services to a crawl, and banned most foreign journalists from Iran, making corroboration very difficult.LINK
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