Report: First opposition protests held in Tehran in 12 months

Feb 14, 2012, 15:25 GMT

Tehran - Opposition protests were held on Tuesday in several parts of Tehran, for the first time in 12 months, opposition websites reported.

The website Kaleme, which belongs to the opposition Green Movement, reported of a gradual increase in the number of people joining the silent protest demonstrations in several parts of central Tehran.

The protests in Tehran, coordinated by the Green Movement, mark one year since Iran's main opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi were placed under house arrest.

Another opposition website, Jaras, said that a large number of police and security forces had been deployed in central Tehran to crack down on the protests.

Witnesses confirmed that police and security were present in some parts of Tehran, especially near the university, but pointed out that their number was not as high as during last year's protests.

As foreign media were banned from covering the protests, the opposition website reports could not be verified. The areas in central Tehran where the protests were reportedly held are usually crowded on weekday afternoons.

Authorities have warned people to refrain from protests, with the Tehran governor's office saying all necessary means would be used to prevent such gatherings.

'It is clear that the police and security forces are on the alert and there will definitely be a decisive confrontation,' Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejehi said.

Moussavi, a former prime minister and Karroubi, a former speaker of parliament, challenged President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2009 presidential election that was overshadowed by allegations of fraud.

Their supporters subsequently took to the streets in protest. Thousands were arrested of whom more than 100, including former reformist officials, remain in detention.