Egypt’s scenario repeating in Iran?
Tehran's central streets are full of people and stores are closed due to disturbances. People are actively moving toward the "Freedom" and "Revolution" squares of the capital, as reported on a number of blogs.
There is no way of finding out whether the information is accurate since it is almost impossible to receive any official information about the events in Tehran. As reported by Western presses, local mass media outlets are restricted and foreign journalists are prohibited from going out to the streets.
A clash between the police and demonstrators last evening left one person dead, 9 injured and 200 arrested, as Tehran's Chief of Police Ahmad Reza Radan reported to "France Press" agency today.
According to certain information, demonstrations are taking place in several large Iranian cities.
Demonstrators are screaming "Death to the dictator", "Mubarak, Ben Ali and now Homenei". They are demanding the release of political prisoners and a more democratic regime.
Yesterday Iranian oppositionists were not allowed to organize a march in central Tehran and tried to repeat the scenario in Egypt. The police tried to stop the mass accumulations near Tehran University and used spray gas, bludgeons and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators. There is also information that oppositionist Mirhoseyn Musavi has been released from house arrest and has joined the demonstrators. He was arrested for calling on the opposition to come out to the streets in defense of Egypt's demonstrators.
However, Iranian television stations are not reporting any information about this. Currently, there is no Internet or mobile phone connection so that the oppositionists will not have the chance to systematize their actions.
The country's leadership says it is taking such steps in order to prevent, as they put it, the intrigues from the West, particularly America.
The Iranian authorities are certain that the wave of the pan-national protest was provoked by the U.S. Secret Service. According to them, the fact that the U.S. government addressed Iranian oppositionists through Twitter serves as a basis for this.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad for his hypocrisy, saying that Ahmadinezhad is welcoming the actions of Egypt's oppositionists and pressuring such actions in his own country at the same time.
