Iran protests continue: Clashes erupt in streets of Tehran - by Ramin Mostaghim and Borzou Daragahi
Violent clashes erupted yesterday (Thursday) in downtown Tehran between thousands of defiant protesters chanting "Death to the dictator" and security forces wielding truncheons, as the political crisis over Iran's disputed presidential election stretched into its fourth week. Contingents of uniformed and plainclothes security forces flooded the city's central squares and managed with batons and tear gas to eventually disperse the demonstrators, many of whom wore black and held up their fingers in V-for-victory salutes.
Though the number of protesters was nowhere close to the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets soon after the election, organizers showed that they could quickly assemble a crowd despite the efforts of security forces. Thursday was also the anniversary of a student uprising that was violently crushed by the government 10 years ago -- a perennial occasion for confrontations between demonstrators and police. "It is going to continue," vowed a marcher in his 60s, big drops of sweat on his forehead. "They have killed our dear youth. How can we forgive them?"
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