Police uses tear gas to halt opposition protests

PanARMENIAN.Net - Riot police cracked down anew on demonstrators in Iran's capital on Monday hours after the feared Revolutionary Guard threatened to crush any further post-election protests. A witness described an "air of sadness" marked by people wailing prayers into the night, the AP reported.



Security forces used tear gas and fired live bullets in the air to break up a group of about 200 protesters paying tribute to a young woman whose apparent shooting death was captured on video and circulated around the world, witnesses said.



The show of force came as the country's highest electoral authority, the Guardian Council, acknowledged some irregularities in 50 districts — including more votes being cast than registered voters. But the council insisted the result of the June 12 presidential election was not affected.



The Guards' threat of "revolutionary confrontation" if the protests persist was another signal the regime is taking a zero-tolerance approach to Iran's worst civil unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.



Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered opposition supporters on Friday to halt their marches and respect the election outcome, saying President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won a resounding victory.



Iran says at least 17 protesters have died in a week of unrest, including at least 10 killed in confrontations the day after Khamenei's speech



Opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has alleged widespread and systematic fraud, issued his own challenge Sunday, telling supporters: "The country belongs to you ... Protesting against lies and fraud is your right."