Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jul. 09 – Thousands of residents of Tehran clashed on Thursday with state security forces who tried to break up a rally to mark the tenth anniversary of the 9 July 1999 student-led nationwide uprising.
Iran Focus
Tehran, Iran, Jul. 09 – Thousands of residents of Tehran clashed on Thursday with state security forces who tried to break up a rally to mark the tenth anniversary of the 9 July 1999 student-led nationwide uprising.
Several thousand people marched west from Imam Hossein Square to Azadi Square.
At Enghelab Square large numbers of people chanted “death to the dictator. Thousands marched towards the square despite efforts by the authorities to block them. Uniformed members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) fired tear gas to force protestors to disperse.
Protests also erupted in Vali Asr and Ferdowsi squares, with chants of “death to the dictator” in the latter.
Separate clashes erupted in Vanak Square between people and security forces at about 7pm local time.
Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of the start of a student-led uprising across Iran which broke out after members of the hard-line Bassij militia and Ansar-e Hezbollah, a paramilitary force that acts as the clerical regime’s storm troopers to put down anti-government demonstrations, raided a dormitory in Tehran University and attacked the students there. One student was killed when he was thrown out of the window in the raid on the university dorm. The ensuing nationwide protests that erupted came as a shock to Iran’s clerical leaders and lasted for over a week.
