Iran cracks down on opposition

Tehran: Iran on Sunday said it had arrested seven people accused of stoking unrest after last year's disputed election, including some who were hired by the US Central Intelligence Agency, the official Irna news agency reported.

The arrests were reported ahead of possible new anti-government protests on February 11, when Iran marks the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the Shah.

Also yesterday, Iran said its internet connections will remain slow this week due to technical problems.

"The cause of the reduced internet speed in recent days is that part of the fibre-optic network is damaged," Communications Minister Reza Taghipour told Iran's state broadcaster.

Iran's anti-government protesters have effectively used the internet and SMS services to organise rallies and spread news and pictures of the demonstrations.

The authorities have rejected the vote fraud charge and portrayed the demonstrations that erupted after the vote as a foreign-backed attempt to undermine the Islamic Republic. They have made clear they will not tolerate more such unrest.

Western countries have dismissed allegations of meddling in Iran's internal affairs.

"Seven people organisationally linked to the counter-revolutionaries, the Zionist media and elements of the sedition have been arrested," Irna quoted an Intelligence Ministry statement as saying, without naming them.