Iranian clerics rally in support of supreme leader

Tehran: Tens of thousands of Iranian clerics have attended state-sponsored rallies across the country in support the Iran's supreme leader.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds final say in all state matters, has become a focus of opposition protests.

Hardliners were angered after students on Monday burned photos of Khamenei and called him an "oppressor," taboo-shattering actions rarely seen in Iran.

Some also burned images of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the U.S.-allied shah.

State TV aired footage of the pictures being burned, stoking outrage among hard-liners.

Saturday's protests by clerics come after a day of pro-government rallies, also in response to the images.