Protests and Riots in Iran

An estimated 3,000 people took to the city's streets on Saturday, in protest against Iran's disputed presidential election on June 12.


Eyewitnesses said protesters chanted "Death to the dictator!" and "Death to dictatorship!" as violence flared near Revolution Square in the city centre.

A graphic video has emerged online which appears to show a teenage girl dying after being shot by militia during Saturday's violence.

The girl, known as "Neda", has become a rallying cry for those opposed to the Iranian hardline government.

"Neda, your death will not be in vain," reads one message on Twitter, where her name has become a call sign for anti-government bloggers and one of the site's most mentioned words.

The reported bloodshed follows threats from Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday that fresh opposition unrest would be met with "blood, violence and chaos".

A new opposition newspaper called Khyaboon or "The Street" has claimed Iranian forces have been removing bodies of those killed in the violence to keep official death tolls low.

Amnesty International cautioned that it was "perilously hard" to verify the casualty tolls.

Amateur video posted online appears to show signs of unrest in other major cities across Iran, including Shiraz, Rasht and Esfahan.

Meanwhile, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on Britain and the United States to stop interfering in the Islamic Republic's internal affairs, the ISNA news agency said.

His foreign minister went further, accusing Britain of seeking to sabotage the disputed presidential election that returned Mr Ahmadinejad to power, triggering mass protests.

The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, slammed Mr Mottaki's comments, saying his allegations were "without foundation".

He said: "The UK is categorical that it is for the Iranian people to choose their government, and for the Iranian authorities to ensure the fairness of the result and the protection of their own people.

"I therefore deplore the continuing violence against those seeking to exercise their right of expression."

Further outbreaks of violence are expected after Iran's main opposition leader attacked the Islamist government and said the nation must be purged of "lies and dishonesty".

Mirhossein Mousavi warned of "consequences" if a crackdown on demonstrations continues.

The opposition leader, who accuses Iran's leaders of rigging the presidential poll, has led a major outpouring of public opposition after official results returned hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power with a landslide majority.

World leaders have also voiced mounting alarm over the unrest - the worst to rock Iran since the turmoil of the 1979 revolution that ousted the US-backed shah and brought an Islamic regime to power.