Fiery protests in Iran

TEHRAN: Furious Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday demanded the hanging of opposition leaders who had called anti-government protests which left one person dead, saying they had been “misled” by Iran's arch-foes.

MPs singled out Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who had called for protests in Tehran on Monday in support of Arab uprisings that quickly turned into anti-government demonstrations and ended in clashes with police in which several people were injured, including nine security force members.

Mohammad Khatami, former reformist President, also came under fire from the conservatives following his open backing of the opposition movement since disputed June 2009 presidential elections.

“Mousavi and Karroubi should be executed! Death to Mousavi, Karroubi and Khatami!” shouted the lawmakers in the House, state news agency IRNA reported.

They said the U.S., Britain and Israel had orchestrated Monday's protests through the opposition leaders, who, according to Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani were being “misled” by Iran's arch-foes.

“The Parliament condemns the Zionists, American, anti-revolutionary and anti-national action of the misled seditionists,” a visibly angry Larijani told Parliament.

“How did the gentlemen [Mousavi and Karroubi] ... fall into the orchestrated trap of America?” he asked.

Despite a strict ban on the rally, heavy security force deployment and the placing of Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Karroubi under de facto house arrest, thousands of opposition supporters took to streets of the capital on Monday.

Clashes

The demonstrations sparked violent clashes in which riot police fired tear gas and paintballs at demonstrators, witnesses and websites said.

Ahmad Reza Radan, deputy police chief of Iran, on Tuesday confirmed an earlier news agency report that a protester had died in the clashes.

The demonstrations were the first in Tehran since February 11, 2010.

Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Karroubi allege Mr. Ahmadinejad's re-election in June 2009 was massively rigged and in the months after the results were announced called for protests which drew tens of thousands onto the streets — shaking the pillars of the Islamic republic and angering its leaders.

Britain, the United State, France and the European Union appealed to the Iranian authorities to show restraint, recalling Iran's earlier support for the uprising in Egypt. — AFP