Iran's Khamenei Rips Pro-Reform Protests
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei sharply criticized pro-reform protesters and raised the possibility of a harsh crackdown Thursday after two days of demonstrations in which some young people chanted "Death to Khamenei!" and threw stones at police.
The demonstrations were the largest against Iran's leadership in months, involving hundreds of young Iranians, some still teenagers. Though they seemed disorganized, with no apparent leadership, the country's hard-line clerics were clearly taking them seriously.
Khamenei, in a speech broadcast on state television and radio, referred to violence in 1999, when security forces and extremist supporters of hard-line clerics attacked students protesting media restrictions. At least one student was killed and the clash touched off the worst street battles since the 1979 revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed shah.
"If the Iranian nation decides to deal with the (current) rioters, it will do so in the way it dealt with it on July 14, 1999," Khamenei said.
Authorities condemned the 1999 attack on students but blamed the ensuing riots on opposition groups. Khamenei took a similar line Thursday, saying his opponents would be held responsible for any violence.
"It should not be allowed that a group of people contaminate society and universities with riots and insecurity, and then attribute it to the pious youth," Khamenei said.
Reformist newspapers, which reflect the thinking of established politicians who have been fighting for change for years, offered little commentary on the unrest.
Though many older Iranians are also frustrated with the regime, they have shown little support for the young protesters. Older Iranians appear to be holding back, fearing the consequences if unrest spirals out of control.
The young demonstrators face a determined foe that has defied popular calls for reform for years and is likely to justify anything done to restore calm — including spilling blood — in the name of Islam.
Exiled opposition groups on the other hand have seized the opportunity created by restless Iranian youth, encouraging dissent through avenues like Los Angeles-based Persian TV channels. U.S. pressure on Iran, which Washington accuses of hiding a nuclear weapons program and harboring terrorists, may have further emboldened those who hope to see the regime toppled.
Late Thursday, hundreds of police locked down central Tehran and blocked off all streets leading to a dormitory housing Tehran University students. Police also prevented people from gathering in the streets.
Some 200 students inside the dormitory grounds threw stones from behind the main gate at the police, who did not respond, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.
The atmosphere was far more subdued compared to Wednesday night's clashes, when dozens of militant hard-liners on motorbikes chased about 300 mostly teenage protesters, beating them with sticks in the streets outside the dormitory in the city's Amirabad district. Several people were seen being carried away with head injuries.
That night, around 200 students in the dormitory compound hurled Molotov cocktails and stones at riot police who joined militants in attacking protesters. "Death to Khamenei!" the students shouted.
In Iran, criticism of Khamenei is punished by jail and is rarely heard in public.
Late Tuesday about 80 people were arrested after a small student gathering against privatizing universities grew into an anti-regime demonstration.
"The clerical regime is nearing its end," demonstrators chanted. "Vigilantes commit crimes, the leader supports them."
Demonstrators also called for the resignation of President Mohammad Khatami, a popularly elected reformist, accusing him of not pushing hard enough for change.
Khatami doesn't have the power of unelected hard-liners who control the judiciary and the security forces. But the hard-liners don't have popular support, leaving Iran at a stalemate.
