Iranian security forces have clashed violently with opposition supporters in central Tehran, witnesses say.
Police used batons and tear gas, according to the witnesses. There were also unconfirmed reports of security forces using live rounds.
State media confirmed there had been clashes, though a foreign media ban means details cannot be verified.
The violence came on the day that Iran holds an annual commemoration for the killing of three students in 1953.
Early on Monday, hundreds of Iranian police were reported to have surrounded Tehran University to try to block protests.
Iranian security forces, including the elite Revolutionary Guards, had warned that they would step in to prevent any attempt to use the event to stage opposition protests.
After the election the chants were only about people getting their votes back, but now it is more about the system and leaders themselves
Opposition chants invert old slogans
They have cracked down hard on protests by opposition supporters following the disputed election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June.
The election led to the largest street protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with thousands arrested and dozens killed.
The government then banned protests, and its opponents took to using officially sanctioned demonstrations to turn out in big numbers and publicise their message.
'Khamenei protest'
On Monday, clashes were reported in Vali Asr Square.
One witness said that police had fired tear gas at protesters there who were chanting "Death to the Dictator", and "Do not be scared - we are all together".
Security forces were trying to prevent students from leaving Tehran University campus and joining protests, according to Amirkabir website, which is run by reformist students.
Iran's Irna state news agency said: "Some rioters who aimed at exploiting the special ceremonies to mark Student Day gathered in the streets surrounding Tehran University and clashed with law enforcement forces."
The BBC's Jon Leyne said he had heard reports from numerous different sources that live rounds had been fired, with some claiming the government had used them without provocation.
Iranian authorities say they do not use live rounds against protesters.
There have been reports of student protests in cities across Iran, including Arak, Shiraz, Mashhad, Kerman and Isfahan, our correspondent reports from Istanbul, where he has been meeting opposition supporters.
An Iranian activist describes how demonstrations are organised
One report said students were protesting not only against President Ahmadinejad, but also Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which our correspondent says would be highly unusual.
In Tehran, at least two opposition supporters were arrested, according to one reformist website.
Authorities had shut down mobile phone networks in the centre of the capital to stop opposition supporters from communicating with each other, another opposition website said.
In the days before the rally, Tehran residents said that they had been unable to use e-mail and that opposition websites were being more tightly restricted than before.
Mourning mothers
As restrictions have increased, activists have moved away from new media, using leaflets, CDs and word of mouth instead.
At the weekend, more than 20 people were arrested at a regular protest by a group of women that includes mothers whose sons were killed in post-election violence. Some of the women were later released.
On Sunday, former presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who emerged as a leader for reformist opponents to the regime, said the protest movement was still alive.
In a statement posted on his website, he warned that authorities were "fighting with shadows in the streets".
"If you silence all the universities, what can you do with the situation of the society?" he asked.
The annual Students Day event on Monday commemorates the death of students during an anti-American protest in 1953.
As protests were reported, Iranian state TV was broadcasting a round-table discussion about how loyal students are to the system.
There is definitely still something brewing there, hopefully something good comes out of all this.
Member of the Unremarkables Just because you're god, it doesn't mean you can treat people that way : - My girlfriend Evil Brit Conspiracy - Insignificant guy
Keep fighting the good fight, Iranian protestor types! I remember seeing a video of a literal horde of protestors driving off Police-110 riot thugs and Basij as the high point of hope that the protests were going someplace. Alas, it was not to be, at least not then.
I just hope that whatever happens next isn't as bad as last time. Arresting people in hospital beds, Basij thugs using machetes to break up marches, police destroying property to blame it on the protesters, use of live rounds in crowds, the alleged dumping of a chemical agent on a rally by helicopter, bringing in out-of-state terrorists, Neda... what a fucking mess. Iran's government has a lot to answer for.
1980s Rock is to music what Giant Robot shows are to anime
Think about it.
Cruising low in my N-1 blasting phat beats,
showin' off my chrome on them Coruscant streets
Got my 'saber on my belt and my gat by side,
this here yellow plane makes for a sick ride
open_sketchbook wrote:Keep fighting the good fight, Iranian protestor types! I remember seeing a video of a literal horde of protestors driving off Police-110 riot thugs and Basij as the high point of hope that the protests were going someplace. Alas, it was not to be, at least not then.
I just hope that whatever happens next isn't as bad as last time. Arresting people in hospital beds, Basij thugs using machetes to break up marches, police destroying property to blame it on the protesters, use of live rounds in crowds, the alleged dumping of a chemical agent on a rally by helicopter, bringing in out-of-state terrorists, Neda... what a fucking mess. Iran's government has a lot to answer for.
This is why I fear it will not come to much. If the latter points are true, then this so-called Islamic Republic of Iran would appear willing to keep itself in place by any means, no matter how appalling. If it comes to a battle of wills between protesters and government, remember that the government has the weaponry. If they are willing to kill and/or brutalize on a large scale rather than give in, then there is little the protesters can do about it. Iran may very well end up like Burma/Myanmar in that respect, the government having little or no popular legitimacy and the public little or no meaningful leverage over them.
The problem for the Iranian regime is that can they trust all of their security forces, especially the Artesh, given that as I understand it, the Artesh and the Revolutionary Guards traditionally have not gotten along (not to mention the usual inter service budget battles).
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
Actually, there are a lot of rogue elements to their security. The Basij are all about the money; stories abound of them robbing banks when the government didn't pay them promptly at the end of the day. The army sat it out, but apparently there are a couple of officers that got written up for sheltering fleeing protestors in army bases, and the army certainly had to have been sympathitic to the protesters to sit on the sidelines even when the government was encouraging them to go in. The situation was so bad for the Iranians that they brought in Hezbollah fighters (some guys from 4chan did photo comparisons and managed to figure out there were maybe 100 or so Hezbollah out there, riding around on motorbikes and spraying crowds with machine-pistols.) And the so-called elite Police-110 spent the protests getting stomped on and running away, so they may not be too eager for another go.
1980s Rock is to music what Giant Robot shows are to anime
Think about it.
Cruising low in my N-1 blasting phat beats,
showin' off my chrome on them Coruscant streets
Got my 'saber on my belt and my gat by side,
this here yellow plane makes for a sick ride
Pelranius wrote:The problem for the Iranian regime is that can they trust all of their security forces, especially the Artesh, given that as I understand it, the Artesh and the Revolutionary Guards traditionally have not gotten along (not to mention the usual inter service budget battles).
A fair point. The Artesh sat out the 1979 revolution also, so they can be said to have a history of it.
open_sketchbook wrote:Actually, there are a lot of rogue elements to their security. The Basij are all about the money; stories abound of them robbing banks when the government didn't pay them promptly at the end of the day. The army sat it out, but apparently there are a couple of officers that got written up for sheltering fleeing protestors in army bases, and the army certainly had to have been sympathitic to the protesters to sit on the sidelines even when the government was encouraging them to go in. The situation was so bad for the Iranians that they brought in Hezbollah fighters (some guys from 4chan did photo comparisons and managed to figure out there were maybe 100 or so Hezbollah out there, riding around on motorbikes and spraying crowds with machine-pistols.) And the so-called elite Police-110 spent the protests getting stomped on and running away, so they may not be too eager for another go.
Very interesting. My initial conclusion may have been premature. The regime's position could get rather hairy.
