Tehran, June 25: Protesters and riot police clashed in the streets around Iran’s parliament as hundreds of people converged on a Tehran square in defiance of government orders to halt demonstrations demanding a new presidential election, witnesses said.
Iran’s supreme leader said the government would not give in to pressure over the disputed presidential election.
Iranian reformist leader Mir Hussain Mousavi’s website carried news of the protest, which it described as an independent demonstration.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered protests to end, leaving Mousavi with the choice of restraining followers or continuing to directly challenge the government.
Iran also said it was considering downgrading ties with Britain, which it has accused of spying and fomenting days of unprecedented street protests over the vote.
Khamenei said in a meeting with lawmakers that: “Neither the system nor the people will give in to pressures at any price.”
Mousavi claims that hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole the June 12 presidential election through massive fraud.
He has called for annulling the results and holding a new vote.
-Agencies