Election 2009: Iran (& the crackdown afterwards)

[Newsposter]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8094296.stm

As Iran approaches its presidential election, the country is more divided than at any time since the revolution.

Huge crowds have been taking to the streets to support rival candidates. Many people believe that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in real danger of losing the election.

But on the campaign trial with Mr Ahmadinejad, you can see he still has a large, hard core, of devoted supporters.

In the small town of Robat Karim the crowds flocked around his motorcade, delaying progress to a crawl.

Mr Ahmadinejad was in no hurry.

As he left the rally, a woman approached him asking help to cure her child. Amid the crush, there was no attempt to turn her away. Instead the president of the Islamic Republic discussed her problems for minutes on end.

It is a scene I have witnessed time and again. Mr Ahmadinejad, man of the people, with time for everyone.

Crowd pleaser

For the outside world, it is the fiery rhetoric that everyone hears.

Mr Ahmadinejad's condemnation of the United States and Israel, his questioning of the Holocaust, and his championing of Iran's nuclear programme.

Time and again those issues come up as Mr Ahmadinejad works the crowd - a true populist in action.

But it is the moment when he promises help for local problems that the crowd really loves.

In Robat Karim, he promised help to this neglected town to be recognised as a city.

Across the country, he has pledged Iran's oil wealth for new schools, mosques and leisure facilities - sometimes leaving the government's financial advisers holding their heads in their hands.

Almost religious

At every rally, the women, clad in the long black religious cloak - the chador - press forward with scrawled notes for the president.

They believe that one word from the president can help solve their housing problems, or their healthcare.

Sometimes the fervour seems almost religious, as they reach forward to the president. I saw several women at his rallies in hysterical floods of tears.

It is not hard to find Ahmadinejad supporters in villages, or small towns like Robat Karim.

They believe he has helped the poor and stood up for the interests of Iran.

But when you speak to the middle classes in Tehran, they simply cannot believe that anyone of an independent mind can vote for him.

Rallying the opposition

In the last week of the election campaign they have been pouring on to the streets of Tehran chanting "Mahmoud bye bye".

In this country where the personal is political, you can guess whom they support by the dress code. For Ahmadinejad opponents, the women often have their headscarves teetering on the very back of their well-coiffed hair. No black chadors here.

The opposition crowds are made up mostly of young people - often university students, often women - frustrated that they cannot meet their aspirations in President Ahmadinejad's Iran.

They are fascinated by US President Barack Obama and despise Mr Ahmadinejad's "death to America" rhetoric.

Former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi has become their unlikely champion.

Aged 67 with grey hair and a dull speaking manner, he can hardly be described as inspirational.

But he has taken on board their aspirations. And for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic, he has been joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Zahra Rahnavard.

All this is about more than just two candidates.

It is about two visions of Iran. It is a division that has been deep in Iran since the Islamic revolution, and before - a divide between traditionalists and modernists.

But in this election it has become more stark than ever before.

As Mr Ahmadinejad has continued to make controversial allegations against his opponents, the split has been further polarised.

Favourite unclear

The sight of so many supporters on the streets, so vociferous, is unprecedented.

Under President Ahmadinejad, anti-government demonstrations have been almost unheard of.

Suddenly the pressure valve has been released.

With no reliable opinion polls and huge crowds attending the rallies of both main candidates, it is hard to make predictions.

It seems likely the election will go to a second round on 19 June.

Whoever wins, already Iran has surely been changed for ever.

[Jad]

This may or may not be ugly.  There have been huge rallies in major cities against Ahmadinejad, which is basically regarded by the progressives and liberals in Iran as their version of Bush.  Somewhat related, the supporters of Ahmadinejad find him to be their only chance against the evil-doers... or America.  It's a nice story... but it can get much more remarkably fucked up than any election in America.

- The army supports Ahmadinejad.  They have warned that if the people in the streets supporting Mousavi try to change their enthusiasm into a revolution, they will be violently crushed.
- One candidate needs to clear 50% for the election result to be accepted.  Otherwise there's a top-two runoff in a month.
- Turnout is expected to exceed 60%, very high for Iran.  How will people turned away from the polls react?  What if the polls are allowed to remain open?

Polling?  Don't even get me started.  Here's some recent quick hits...

June 9, Rooz Online, 7900 size
Mousavi - 57
Ahmadinejad - 23
Other - 20

June 9, Rahbord e Danesh, 1743 size
Mousavi - 37.6
Rezaei - 30.8
Ahmadinejad - 25.5
Karroubi - 6.1

June 8, Alef, n/a size
Ahmadinejad - 61.7
Mousavi - 28
Other - 10.3

June 7, IRIB, 30k size
Ahmadinejad - 62.7
Mousavi - 25.7
Other - 11.6

Average of all polls since June 1 (11)
Mousavi - 43.29
Ahmadinejad - 38.63
Rezaei - 15.28 (5)
Karroubi - 8.36 (5)

Best part about that?  Those numbers add up to 105.56%.  If the supporters are hooked on polls, both the Mousavi and Ahmadinejad camps will claim victory, and one of those camps will be royally pissed if they are declared the loser.  One of those camps also has the support of the army and tacit support of the Ayatollah.

Results should begin to trickle in this time tomorrow.

[Newsposter]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8098896.stm

Thousands of opposition supporters have clashed with police after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of Iran's presidential poll.

Secret police have been attacked, while riot police used batons and tear gas against backers of Mir Hossein Mousavi, who called the results a "charade".

Correspondents say the violence is the worst seen in Tehran in a decade.

The official results gave Mr Ahmadinejad 63% of the vote against just 34% for Mr Mousavi.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the high turnout of 85%, described the count as a "real celebration" and called for calm.

"Enemies may want to spoil the sweetness of this event... with some kind of ill-intentioned provocations," the ayatollah said.

Mr Mousavi has also claimed victory, as his supporters said the election had been stolen and vowed to appeal for a re-run.

But observers say this would have little chance of success.

Some of the protesters in Tehran wore Mr Mousavi's campaign colour of green and chanted "Down with the dictator", news agencies report.

Four police motorbikes were set on fire near the interior ministry, where votes had been counted, the BBC's John Simpson in Tehran says.

Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli warned that any demonstrations needed official permission, and none had been given.

One opposition newspaper has been closed down and BBC websites also appear to have been blocked by the Iranian authorities.

Mr Mousavi was hoping to prevent Mr Ahmadinejad winning more than 50% of the vote, in order to force a run-off election.

Danger of 'tyranny'

Mr Mousavi, a former prime minister, dismissed the election result as deeply flawed.

"I personally strongly protest the many obvious violations and I'm warning I will not surrender to this dangerous charade," the Reuters news agency reported him as saying.

"The result of such performance by some officials will jeopardise the pillars of the Islamic Republic and will establish tyranny."

Mr Mousavi had said there was a shortage of ballot papers and alleged that millions of people had been denied the right to vote.

His election monitors were not allowed enough access to polling stations, he added.

The head of the Committee to Protect the People's Votes, a group set up by all three opposition candidates, said the group would not accept the result, alleging fraud.

They have asked Iran's Guardian Council - a powerful body controlled by conservative clerics - to cancel the results and re-run the elections. A second opposition candidate, Mehdi Karroubi, declared the results "illegitimate and unacceptable".

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says the result has been greeted with surprise and with deep scepticism by many Iranians.

The figures, if they are to be believed, show Mr Ahmadinejad winning strongly even in the heartland of Mr Mousavi, the main opposition contender.

The scale of Mr Ahmadinejad's win means that many people who voted for a reformist candidate in the previous presidential election four years ago have apparently switched their votes to Mr Ahmadinejad, he adds.

However, the president does enjoy the support of many of the urban poor and rural dwellers.

"I am happy that my candidate has won - he helps the poor and he catches the thieves," sandwich seller Kamra Mohammadi, 22, told the AFP news agency.

The opposition gain much of their support from the middle classes and the educated urban population.

Surge of interest

BBC Iranian affairs analyst Sadeq Saba says the result means that hope for peaceful reform in Iran may die for a long time.

There had been a surge of interest in Iran's presidential election, with unprecedented live television debates between the candidates and rallies attended by thousands.

There were long queues at polling stations, with turnout reaching 85%.

Four candidates contested the election, with Mohsen Razai and Mehdi Karroubi only registering about 1% of the vote each.

Iran is ruled under a system known as Velayat-e Faqih, or "Rule by the Supreme Jurist", who is currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It was adopted by an overwhelming majority in 1979 following the Islamic revolution which overthrew the autocratic Western-backed Shah.

But the constitution also stipulates that the people are the source of power and the country holds phased presidential and parliamentary elections every four years.

All candidates are vetted by the powerful conservative-controlled Guardian Council, which also has the power to veto legislation it deems inconsistent with revolutionary principles.

[Jad]

Well this is turning out ugly...

[DeathOfScythes]

"our cameraman was arrested", but we have spares. 

[Jad]

those duties are sometimes contracted out to locals.

local cameraman 1, 2: go get me some footage from around town
Channel 4 cameraman: stay with me and do the report

[Jad]

Meanwhile the video that is making it out of Iran isn't all that good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlPRpejvrcs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GGx08RHeW4

[Jad]

Andrew Sullivan's blog has been all over this: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/

Here's the best indication of fraud for this election.  Someone went ahead and plotted the vote totals from the six times election results were announced after the polls closed:



The odds of votes coming in like that so evenly are extraordinarily low.  For instance, in our elections the rural counties tend to report before urban centers, so someone who might win a state 55 / 45 with 95% of the precincts reporting might start the night down 80 / 20 with 1% of the precincts reporting.  In this case it looks like the margin of victory was set in stone from the start.

additional information here: http://niacblog.wordpress.com/2009/06/13/election-liveblogging-saturday/

It appears Mousavi has been arrested or, at least, placed under house arrest.  Also students have been clashing with riot police at universities.

And really, let's go for style points here.  If you're going to fix a 'close' election, don't have the unpopular guy win by 30%+ - that's just daring the opposition to call that bullshit.  A 48 / 45 nailbiter would have been the more logical choice here.

[Jad]

More photos:













Sadly in the end the protesters are protesting the people who have the guns... so we all know how this could end up.

[Newsposter]

gathered from AP sources, longer list here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html

Iran shuts down Al-Arabiya's Tehran bureau http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/06/14/iran-shuts-al-arabiya-tehran-bureau-network-says/

Iranian authorities closed Al-Arabiya's Tehran bureau for a week without offering a reason, the Arabic network announced on its Web site Sunday in Arabic and English.

The announcement came on the heels of the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who insisted Sunday his country had a free press.

"There is close to absolute freedom here. (People) can say whatever they like. There are hundreds of dailies published in Iran," he said in a news conference marking his controversial victory over reformist Mir Hossein Moussavi.

Foreign reporters have been blocked at every turn from covering the ensuing protests by Moussavi supporters who claimed ballot fraud.

Mousavi: Protests must go on

Reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi "urged his supporters on Sunday to continue with their protests, but in a peaceful and non-confrontational manner," AFP reports.

"I again advise you to continue the civil and legal opposition throughout the country peacefully and in a non-confrontational manner," he said in a statement on his campaign website.

Vice President Joe Biden expresses doubt about election

Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday he had doubts about whether Iran's presidential election was free and fair, though the U.S. must accept "for the time being" Tehran's claim that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a resounding re-election.

...

While Ahmadinejad insisted the results showing his landslide victory were fair and legitimate, Biden simply said, "You know I have doubts."

"It sure looks like the way they're suppressing speech, the way they're suppressing crowds, the way in which people are being treated, that there's some real doubt about that," Biden said.

"I don't think we're in a position to say. What surprised me in that the assertion that he won by what 60 some percent of the vote, and so I think we have to wait and see. But it didn't seem on its face to be as clear cut."

160+ arrested in protests

"Deputy head of Iranian police says 160 arrested & denies Mousavi under house arrest -- as reported by Mehr news agency" -- from journalist Mina Al Oraibi on Twitter.

Mousavi, under arrest, writes letter asking for nullification of election http://www.scribd.com/doc/16412731/Mousavis-Announcment-24-June-2009

Today, I officially asked the guardian council (who oversees the elections in IR) in a letter to nullify the outcome of this election and I regard this (the nullification) as the only possible way for regaining the people's trust and cooperation with the government. I strongly urge you again to peacefully protest and defend your legal rights civilly and without confrontation and violence all over the country.

[Newsposter]

Gathering from shaky sources but allegedly this is a leak of the "actual" vote total in Iran:

Mir Hossein Mousavi: 19,075,623 (45.39%)
Mehdi Karoubi: 13,387,104 (31.85%)
Mahmoud Ahmadi-nejad (incumbent): 5,698,417 (13.56%)
Mohsen Rezaei: 3,754,218 (8.93%)
Votes cast: 42,026,078 of 49,322,412 eligable (85.21%)

Notes about the above:
- Turnout numbers weren't flawed
- Support for protests aren't in fact from a small group of angry people on the losing side, but are more from the guy getting 13% of the vote somehow being crowned President.
- Under Iran's own election rules, no one would have officially lost this round of voting.  Someone needed to clear 50% and that did not happen.  Iran, in a way, brought this one on itself.
- However, assuming a second round it is likely your 2nd round total would go 77.24 for Mousavi vs. 22.49 for Ahmadinejad since a vast majority of Karoubi supporters would be likely to go for Mousavi and a vast majority of Rezaei supporters would be likely to go for Ahmadinejad.  (Rezaei is actually farther to the right than Ahmadinejad.)

[Newsposter]

The Nation gets interview with Iran's Ex-Foreign Minister Yazdi, who believes this is a coup
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/443348

Many of us believe that the election was rigged. Not only Mousavi. We don't have any doubt. And as far as we are concerned, it is not legitimate.

There were many, many irregularities. They did not permit the candidates to supervise the election or the counting of the ballots at the polling places. The minister of the interior announced that he would oversee the final count in his office, at the ministry, with only two aides present.

In previous elections, they announced the results in each district, so people could follow up and make a judgment about the validity of the figures. In 2005, there were problems: in one district there were about 100,000 eligible voters, and they announced a total vote of 150,000. This time they didn't even release information about each particular district.

In all, there were about 45,000 polling places. There were 14,000 mobile ones, that can move from place to place. Many of us protested that. Originally, these mobile polling places were supposed to be used in hospitals and so on. This time, they were used in police stations, army bases, and various military compounds. When it comes to the military compounds and so on, if even 500 extra votes were put into each of the 14,000 boxes, that is seven million votes.

...

A coup d'etat? They've already made one! They've created a dictatorship, in fact. Do you know that last night the security forces occupied the offices of many newspapers, to make sure that their reporting on the election was favorable? They changed many headlines. They fixed the election.

The Guards are taking over everything, including many economic institutions. The ministry of the interior is increasing its control in all the provinces.

We have information that Ahmadinejad is thinking about changing the Constitution to allow the president to serve more than two terms, to make his presidency more or less permanent.

Of course, there are strong voices in the establishment that will challenge him. It is not clear that he and the Sepah (the Revolutionary Guard) will be strong enough to overcome them. But there will be clashes over this.

[Jad]

This sums up so much...

Peaceful protesters get charged by Iranian police on motorcycles.  Protesters eventually overcome the police, setting their bikes on fire, but some in the crowd taking care to make sure the police theirselves are not harmed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSECAvBTanQ

[Newsposter]

Dissent within ranks of Ayatollahs http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/06/an-ayatollah-dissents.html

Earlier this morning (9:42), I noted rumors that Grand Ayatollah Sanei, an influential Iranian cleric, had condemned the elections as unlawful. Now a reader of Andrew Sullivan's translates this article from Farsi:

Grand Ayatollah Sanei in Iran has declared Ahmadinejad's presidency illegitimate and cooperating with his government against Islam. There are strong rumors that his house and office are surrounded by the police and his website is filtered. He had previously issued a fatwa, against rigging of the elections in any form or shape, calling it a mortal sin.

Mass resignations at Sharif University, rapidly becoming epicenter of protests http://niacblog.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/election-unrest-day-two/

"It has been confirmed that 120 faculty members at Sharif University have resigned in protest of the election, and are gathering in front of the university for a demonstration."

Twitter is full of accounts of violence at Sharif University right now, including riot police firing rubber bullets and storming through dorms. I have not seen independent confirmation of this yet (please email me if you have) but fyi.

Zahra Rahnavard, wife of Mousavi, calls for intensifying national protests, general strike http://tehranbureau.com/2009/06/14/sunday-iran-alerts/

Mousavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, today appeared publicly for the first time since the protests erupted, laying out the plans for resistance going forward.

The indispensable NIAC summed up her message: "Ghalamnews (Mousavi's newspaper) reports Mousavi is calling for a peaceful march along Valiasr street in Tehran and in 19 other cities on Monday and a national strike on Tuesday. Before the election, Mousavi supporters formed a chain down the entire 18 kilometer length of Valiasr."

Rezaei, former head of Iranian Revolutionary Guards, contests election

This could be huge, from ABC's Lara Setrakian on Twitter: "Rezaei, the conservative candidate and fmr head of Revolutionary Guards, apparently publishes open letter strongly contesting iran election."

Satellites used to broadcast BBC Persian jammed by Iranians http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2009/June/middleeast_June399.xml&section=middleeast&col=

The British Broadcasting Corporation said the satellites it uses for its Persian television and radio services had been affected since Friday by "heavy electronic jamming" which had become "progressively worse."

Satellite technicians had traced the interference to Iran, the BBC said.

BBC Arabic television and other language services had also experienced transmission problems, the corporation said.

[Jad]

More video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSj4i6pSgSA

It is quite possible the man in this video was beaten to death, it is what the video taker claims.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlu-qx8ohL8

The police are out in force, and there's potential for abuse on every street corner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRUTh76486I

This from Esfehan, Iran: police running away from oncoming protesters.

[Newsposter]

Pace of violence picking up

In the last hour, there has been a sharp spike in the number of (unconfirmed) reports about intensified violence:

From ABC's Jim Sciutto: "inside the protests tonight, if you support ahmadinajad, no police, you criticize him, get pepper spray, tear gas, batons... Anti-govt protests have spread to other Iranian cities, incl Rasht... We witnessed police spraying pepper gas into the eyes of peaceful female protesters... Two worlds in Tehran tonight. Support Ahmadinejad, free rein. Oppose him, risk police attacks, tear gas, batons, arrest8 minutes ago from web"

From an emailer Salim: "This is beginning to mirror what I witnessed in the first revolution. When people start taking over military centers. There is report that a basiji center in Northern Tehran around Tajrish has been captured by the protesters. This would potentially mean weapons in hands of protesters. I'll let you know if I heard more."

From @tehranbureau: "basij and security forces had fought for hours to subdue the people... My friends who work in the tehran hospitals said the number of injured was staggering"

From @winston80: "heavy clashes in Shiraz (southern Iran) reported. ppl attacking police"

From @iranelection09: "URGENT JUST IN, there are TANKS in front of the interior ministry of tehran in valiasr st. & fatemi cross CAREFUL"

European Union sides with Ahmadinajad fraud http://www.eu2009.cz/en/news-and-documents/cfsp-statements/eu-presidency-statement-concerning-the-iranian-presidential-elections--12-june-2009-25213/

The Presidency of the Council of the EU closely followed the course of the Presidential elections held on 12 June 2009 and notices Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected for the second term as the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Presidency is concerned about alledged [sic] irregularities during the election process and post-electional violence that broke out immediately after the release of the official election results on 13 June 2009.

The Presidency hopes that outcome of the Presidential elections will bring the opportunity to resume the dialogue on nuclear issue and clear up Iranian possition [sic] in this regard. The Presidency expects the new Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will take its responsibility towards international community and respect its international obligations.

Violent clashes with police on campus of Tehran University

A lot of urgent Twitter traffic in the last hour about major violence at Tehran University, via emailers Susan and Dexter.

Several posts from @persiankiwi: "tehran is like war zone. it is unbelievable. i have not seen this for 30 years. fires everywhere. shooting, people... tehran university dorm has ben raided and hundreds of students arrested tonight. this is happening now... i am hearing that students beaten severly at tehran uni tonight. am speaking with someone on the scene now on mobile..."

More from @maydar: "a very hard conflict is continuing between anti revolt police and students in university of Tehran/ Iran . NOW"

Iran detains over 100 members of opposition http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/world/middleeast/15iran.html?_r=1

The Iranian authorities detained more than 100 prominent opposition members, and on Sunday unrest continued for a second day across Iran in the wake of the country's disputed presidential election. [...]

A moderate clerical body, the Association of Combatant Clergy, issued a statement posted on reformist Web sites saying the election was rigged and calling for it to be canceled, warning that "if this process becomes the norm, the republican aspect of the regime will be damaged and people will lose confidence in the system." [...]

Those arrested were from all the major opposition factions and included the brother of a former president, Mohammad Khatami. Some were released later in the day.

Students beseiged in university plead for American recognition of election fraud

I've tried really hard while live-blogging not to post huge blocks of text, I know they can get tedious. But I had to put something up about the interview that aired just now on CNN with one of the network's Tehran-based journalists Samson Desta (I'll replace with video as soon as they post it).

Before I get to what he said, a quick note of thanks to the brave journalists like Desta who are still in the streets trying to get information to us. We've reported on more journalist beatings over the last two days than I can remember, and one camera technician for a German news station has gone completely missing. So thank you.

Now, onto the substance. Desta offered some detailed first-hand insight into the brutal, indiscriminate violence taking place on the ground in Iran. In the section below, he describes the scene at the protests he went to AFTER he had already been personally beaten by police earlier in the day:

Late last night, I went out to one area in Tehran and that one got a bit ugly. You had pro-Mousavi protesters moving out, smashing windows and facing off with a group of individuals who are described as vigilante because they were not wearing uniforms. They were plain clothes, carrying baseball bats. They were carrying metal pipes, and they were just beating up anyone that was that was in that area. Today, I went to a second protest...probably the most violent that I've seen, that we have seen. We went to an area in midtown, where we saw hundreds of pro-Ahmadinejad protesters. The difference here is that these protesters again did not wear any uniforms who identified they were except for the Iranian flag that they were waving. They were on motorcycles. There were some on foot but again, they had weapons. No uniforms but they had weapons such as metal pipes, and they were actually just driving around, intimidating people, beating up people, anyone that was in the street, anyone that was in the road, anyone that dared to chant "Mousavi, Mousavi," they were beating them senseless.

Mousavi plans march on Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square tomorrow, with or without permission http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1483470.php/Renewed_clashes_in_Tehran_as_Moussavi_plans_speech__3rd_Roundup__

"With clashes continuing Sunday night on the streets in Tehran, Iran's opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi plans to make a speech to Iranians in the capital's Azadi (Freedom) square."

[Jad]

More video now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpWL3-ms41o

Protests seem to be going on around the clock now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJdx7qmrqm8

Video evidence that protests have spread to Mousavi's home province of Ardabil

[Jad]

Pictures:


Ahmadinejad supporters attack Mousavi supporters at Tehran University

[Jad]

Andrew Sullivan with a hell of a lot more bits...

Mousavi, via BBC

I AM UNDER EXTREME PRESSURE TO ACCEPT THE RESULTS OF THE SHAM ELECTION. THEY HAVE CUT ME OFF FROM ANY COMMUNICATION WITH PEOPLE AND AM UNDER SURVEILLANCE. I ASK THE PEOPLE TO STAY IN THE STREETS BUT AVOID VIOLENCE

Reports of military blocking access to hospitals

Hospitals around Tehran are surrounded by security forces who refuse to let those with injuries pass, humanity at its worst

Friend: 17 y/o killed infront of me couldn't get to him in time guards beating us up went to hospital but he stopped moving

Isfahan Technical University attacked by riot police:

[Newsposter]

Supreme Leader Khamenei orders vote rigging probe

Iran's supreme leader ordered Monday an investigation into allegations of election fraud, marking a stunning turnaround by the country's most powerful figure and offering hope to opposition forces who have waged street clashes to protest the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

State television quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei directing a high-level clerical panel, the Guardian Council, to look into charges by pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has said he is the rightful winner of Friday's presidential election.

The decision comes after Mousavi wrote a letter appealing to the Guardian Council and met Sunday with Khamenei, who holds almost limitless power over Iranian affairs. Such an election probe by the 12-member council is uncharted territory and it not immediately clear how it would proceed or how long it would take.

Election results must be authorized by the council, composed of clerics closely allied with the unelected supreme leader. All three of Ahmadinejad's challengers in the election -- Mousavi and two others -- have made public allegations of fraud after results showed the president winning by a 2-to-1 margin.

"Issues must be pursued through a legal channel," state TV quoted Khamenei as saying. The supreme leader said he has "insisted that the Guardian Council carefully probe this letter."

The day after the election, Khamenei urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad and called the result a "divine assessment."

Rumors: Use of live fire authorized by Iranian government http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8099952.stm

"The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Tehran, says he understands plain-clothed militias have been authorised to use live ammunition for the first time." Rumors about live-fire authorization have been on Twitter for hours but this is the first I've seen of it in a major news report.

Hundreds of thousands turn out for massive pro-Mousavi rally http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/world/middleeast/16iran.html

Hundreds of thousands of people marched in silence through central Tehran Monday to protest Iran's disputed presidential election, in an extraordinary but peaceful show of defiance that appeared to be the largest demonstration in Iran since the 1979 revolution.

A broad river of people -- young and old, dressed in traditional Islamic gowns and the latest Western fashions -- marched slowly from Revolution Square to Freedom Square for more than three hours, many of them wearing the signature bright green ribbons of Mr. Moussavi's campaign, and holding up their hands in victory signs. When the occasional shout or chant went up, the crowd quickly hushed them, and some held up signs bearing the word "silence." [...]

Mr. Moussavi attended the rally, addressing a sea of supporters from the roof of a car in his first public appearance since the disputed vote. "The vote of the people is more important than Moussavi or any other person," the Agence France-Presse quoted him as saying. "God willing, we will get back our rights."

Gunmen open fire on crowd of hundreds of thousands at Azari Square http://twitter.com/BreakingNews

# URGENT -- People were seen running in panic after the gunfire but it is unclear if anyone has been shot. Details to come.4 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters

# URGENT -- Iranian state TV says gunfire has erupted at the pro-Mousavi rally in Tehran where hundreds of thousands of people were protesting4 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters

# BULLETIN -- GUNFIRE ERUPTS AT PRO-MOUSAVI RALLY IN TEHRAN, PEOPLE RUNNING.