An Iranian opposition website reports that Islamic Republic security forces are using unprecedented violence against protesters in Tehran and other major cities.
"At six thirty today a dense gathering of people at Vali Asr Sqaure was chanting ‘Ya Hosein! MirHosei! Ya Mehdi! Shiek Mehdi!’ when they were attacked by the Special Guards and plainclothes forces," a Kaleme reporter writes. "That’s when we heard shots and I, along with the other members of the crowd, began to take cover. At this point I realized my jacket was covered with the blood of people that had been shot around me."
Iran’s Green Voice reports that eight protesters were injured by gunshots at Vali Asr Square.
It also reports that today’s crowds of protesters in Enghelab and Azadi Street were larger than those that gathered on February 14, and that crowds stayed in the streets long after nightfall.
Iranian media completely denied the presence of protesters in the streets, repeating an earlier explanation from the minister of intelligence that the streets were crowded by New Year’s shoppers.
Opposition sites also report that Fakhrosadat Mohtashamipour, wife of detained Mousavi aide and former interior minister Mostafa Tajzadeh, was arrested during today’s demonstrations.
Opposition forces had rallied protesters today to decry the incarceration of opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi along with their wives. The fate of the two couples remains unclear since they were put under house arrest more than two weeks ago for inviting people to rally on February 14 in support of recent Arab uprisings.
