Iran opposition protests, agency reports shooting
(Reuters) - Thousands of Iranian opposition activists rallied in support of popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia on Monday and a semi-official news agency said one person was shot dead and several wounded by protesters.
An opposition website said dozens were arrested while taking part in the banned protests, which amounted to a test of strength for the reformist opposition in the Islamic state.
By late evening, chants of "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) echoed from Tehran rooftops in scenes reminiscent of 2009 protests against the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Eight people were killed in those mass street demonstrations which lasted about a month and resulted in many arrests and several executions.
A witness said security forces fired teargas to scatter thousands marching toward a Tehran square on Monday. There were also clashes between police and demonstrators, and dozens of arrests, in the city of Isfahan, another witness told Reuters.
The semi-official Fars news agency cited violence on the part of protesters in a report that could herald a hard line by authorities clearly eager to head off any resurgent opposition.
"One person was shot dead and several were wounded by seditionists (opposition supporters) who staged a rally in Tehran," Fars said, without giving further details.
Some Tehran protesters chanted "Death to the dictator" during protests, which continued in some places into the evening. Other demonstrators marched in silence.
Some chants drew comparisons between the Iranian leadership and the autocrats deposed in recent weeks in Tunis and Cairo.
By late evening, the protests appeared to have eased off.
Amnesty International condemned the authorities' reaction.
"Iranians have a right to gather to peacefully express their support for the people of Egypt and Tunisia," it said.
Describing events, state television said: "Hypocrites, monarchists, thugs and seditionists who wanted to create public disorder in Iran were arrested by our brave nation ... These people set garbage bins on fire and damaged public property."
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia against secular, Western-allied rulers an "Islamic awakening," akin to the 1979 revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed shah in Iran.
But the opposition see events in Tunisia and Egypt as resembling their own protests after the June 2009 election which they say was rigged in favor of President Ahmadinejad.
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