Tehran Spring

“Thousands of opposition supporters have clashed with security forces in the centre of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Police used tear gas and detained dozens rallying in solidarity with uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. There was one report of a death in Tehran.” [BBC]

Ouch.

al Jazeera reports on behind-the-scenes Iranian clerical maneuvering:

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4:04 PM ET — Freeway overtaken by battle with the basij. Reported to be from today, near Azadi Square. It’s a bit difficult to tell what’s happening here but it seems that the basij are the smaller crowd on the right hand side, being confronted by the much larger crowd of demonstrators.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry_g_NL-dT0

From YouTube post:

Warning: May be extremely graphic I am submitting video from anonymous sources in Iran. Some video may or may not have been posted before.

Also, from Pitney:
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Presented without comment:

4:16 PM ET — “Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed.”blog post in Persian, translated by the NIAC.

“I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed. I’m listening to all my favorite music. I even want to dance to a few songs. I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow! There are a few great movie scenes that I also have to see. I should drop by the library, too. It’s worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo again. All family pictures have to be reviewed, too. I have to call my friends as well to say goodbye. All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them.

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4th_day_of_demonstrations_7

Pitney:

The numbers at today’s rally are hard to gauge, but our correspondent Saeed Kamali Dehghan, reckons there could be as many as one million people there. …

He said the demonstration is bigger than Monday’s rally. Many are wearing black and carrying photos of those who died. Some are carry placards calling for a new election not a recount. The shops on the route are closed in support of the rally, he added.

More photos of today’s demonstration here.
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