Cleric says Iran in crisis, police fight protesters: Via Reuters.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - In apparent defiance of Iran's supreme leader, a powerful cleric declared his country in crisis after a disputed poll, and tens of thousands of protesters used Friday prayers to stage the biggest show of dissent for weeks.

Clashes erupted later in central Tehran between police and followers of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, who still contests the election result that showed hardline President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad had been re-elected by a wide margin.

"Police fired tear gas and beat supporters of Mousavi in Keshavarz Boulevard," a witness said, adding that protesters were carrying hundreds of green banners -- Mousavi's campaign color -- and chanting 'Ahmadinejad, resign, resign'."

Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a moderate who backed Mousavi's election campaign, said many Iranians had doubts about the official result of the June 12 vote.
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The Man in the Shadow: Mojtaba Khamenei: Via Tehran Bureau.

[TEHRAN BUREAU] Despite the transparency of your positions [regarding various issues], there have been reports that your respected son — Mr. Sayyed Mojtaba — has supported one of the candidates [in the presidential elections]. Then, I heard that a high official has told you that, “Your son has supported one of the candidates” [implying that he had carried out his father’s order], to which you have reportedly responded, “He is his own man, not just my son,” which made it clear that [his] support was his own personal view [and preference, and not yours].

At the same time there were reports about his [Mojtaba’s] support for another candidate — whose star suddenly dimmed three days before the elections and [the] kindness and support moved toward the other candidate — and that he [Mojtaba] had even had an active role in the campaign of that candidate [before switching to the other candidate]. You are well aware that the unwise intervention of the relatives and aids of some religious and political officials in the past [elections] has had very negative consequences for the political establishment and the nation.
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Death in the dorms: Iranian students recall horror of police invasion: Via The Guardian(UK).

They came in the small hours, just as the dormitories were settling down for the night. Outside, Tehran was still in ferment, a city gripped by fury two days after a "stolen election". Inside the dorms on Amirabad Street, students were trying to sleep, though nerves were jangling; just hours earlier several had been beaten in front of the main gate to the university.

What happened next developed into one of the seminal events of Iran's post-election unrest: police broke locks and then bones as they rampaged through the dormitories, attacked dozens of students, carted off more than 100 and killed five. The authorities still deny the incursion took place. But the account pieced together from interviews with five of those present tells a different story.

"We were getting ready to go to sleep when we suddenly heard them breaking the locks to enter our rooms," said one of the 133 students arrested that night. "I'd seen them earlier beating students but I didn't imagine that they would come inside. It's even against Iranian law."
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Iranian Police, Protesters Clash: Via Voice of America.

Iranian media say police and demonstrators clashed in Tehran Thursday when activists defied a government warning against demonstrations.  

Iranian state-run television says security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters, who gathered near Tehran University to mark the 10th anniversary of a student uprising.

The station says hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the site, but other news agencies say thousands turned out for the protests.

Witnesses say police fired shots into the air and also used batons and tear gas to hold back protesters.  They also say demonstrators chanted "Death to the dictator" and set trash cans on fire.

Witnesses say police detained some of the demonstrators, and they also say members of the pro-government Basij militia were out in force.
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Thousands protest in Iran, defying crackdown vow: Via Huffington Post.

TEHRAN, Iran — Thousands of protesters streamed down avenues of the capital Thursday, chanting "death to the dictator" and defying security forces who fired tear gas and charged with batons, witnesses said. The first opposition foray into the streets in 11 days aimed to revive mass demonstrations that were crushed in Iran's postelection turmoil.

Iranian authorities had promised tough action to prevent the marches, which supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi have been planning for days in Internet messages. Heavy police forces deployed at key points in the city ahead of the marches, and Tehran's governor vowed to "smash" anyone who heeded the demonstration calls.

In some places, police struck hard. Security forces chased after protesters, beating them with clubs on Valiasr Street, Tehran's biggest north-south avenue, witnesses said.
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