clashes

3,000 Protesters Take to Streets

Support for Mousavi strong in north Tehran.

The stillness in Iran lasted five days--but protesters are out in full force again. Up to 3,000 protesters marched near a mosque in north Tehran on Sunday, fighting against riot police armed with tear gas and truncheons. Because of the extremely restrictive media ban in Iran, it's difficult for reports—including one of an alleged police beating of an elderly woman—to be confirmed. Those in North Tehran form a large base for defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi who, at the end of last week, rejected the Guardian Council's proposal to begin a partial vote recount. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, called for national unity on Sunday, saying, "I admonish both sides not to stoke the emotions of the young or pit the people against each other...Our people are made of one fabric."