Tehran, November 05: It was meant to be a highlight of the Iranian revolutionary calendar, a day of mass rallies sponsored by the government to showcase contempt for America and the West.
But the official commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the storming by students of the US embassy in Tehran and the start of the 1979 hostage crisis was hijacked by the opposition yesterday – for their biggest show of strength in months.
Violence occurred on some of the main thoroughfares of the capital and other Iranian cities after thousands defied messages sent to mobile phones warning them to stay at home or face prosecution. Dozens of activists had been arrested and the main metro stations closed, but undeterred, people poured onto the streets to show their disapproval of the hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his clerical backers, a reflection of the political turmoil still raging in Iran.
–Agencies