Dubai: Hundreds of thousands of Iranians on Thursday massed in central Tehran to mark the anniversary of the revolution that created the country's Islamic republic, while police moved quickly to snuff out opposition counterprotests.
Police clashed with protesters across Tehran, firing tear gas to disperse them and paintballs to mark them for arrest.
Gangs of hardliners also attacked senior opposition figures as they tried to attend the rallies — including the wife of the head of the reform movement.
Plainclothes Basiji forces clubbed Zahrah Rahnavard, 65, on her head and back until her supporters formed a human ring around her and whisked her away, according to the website of her husband, Mir Hussain Mousavi.
Hardliners also attacked the convoy of a senior opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi, smashing his car windows and forcing him to turn back as he tried to join the protests, his son Hussain Karroubi said.
The celebrations marking the revolution's 31st anniversary were an opportunity for Iran's clerical regime to tout its power in the face of the opposition movement, which has managed to keep up periodic street protests since last June's presidential elections despite a fierce crackdown.
However, the opposition turnout was dwarfed by the huge crowd at the state-run celebrations.
In a nationally televised address, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran had produced its first batch of uranium enriched to a higher level. He said his country would not be bullied by the West over its nuclear programme.
"The first package of 20 per cent fuel was produced and provided to the scientists," Ahmadinejad said, reiterating that Iran was now a "nuclear state."
He did not specify how much uranium had been enriched.
A Dubai-based expert on the Iranian issue and researcher at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, INEGMA, said Ahmadinejad's speech suggested that the announcement was mere rhetoric meant to foster feelings of nationalism in a divided country.
Dr Ted Karasik said Iran was at the crossroads regarding the direction of the revolution. He added that confrontation with the West looked imminent now.
Opposition supporters told Gulf News over the phone from Tehran that clashes erupted first at Sad-eghieh Square, just 1,6km from the Azadi Square where Ahmadinejad spoke to his supporters.
