Protests Hit the Streets of Tehran

Iran's Interior Minister announced Saturday that the results from the Islamic Republic's much-watched presidential election were in: incumbent hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad swept the election with 63 percent of the vote. In Iran, the reaction was instant, visceral, sharply divided and — in some cases — violent. Reformist challenger Mir-Hossein Moussavi said he is the "absolute winner... by a very large margin" and "won't surrender to this manipulation." In response, throngs of his supporters poured into the streets of Tehran, chanting "Death to the dictator," "Moussavi We'll Protect You" and "Iran Looks Like Palestine" — the last of which likened Ahmadinejad's and the status quo government's defenders to Israeli police. Polls had swung to Moussavi's favor all week, but with a record 85 percent turn-out according to ministry officials, the election remains contested.