That's it for today. I'll try to present a more detailed picture of today's protests through eyewitness accounts, footage, and photos tomorrow.
4:45 PM GMT - 8:15 PM Tehran time Rasht
First footage purportedly from today in Gilan University:
4:30 PM GMT - 8:00 PM Tehran time Kermanshah
First footage purportedly from today in Kermanshah University:
Caller to BBC Persian: All these dates and ceremonies that the Islamic Republic has stuffed into Iran's calendar have become a thorn in the regime's side. I guarantee that there will be another occasion very soon for us to protest once again.
Callers from Isfahan, Yazd, Ilam, and Tabriz describe widespread protests against the government.
4:00 PM GMT - 7:30 PM Tehran time
The following are accounts by callers and e-mailers on BBC Persian's 'Your Turn' program.
Mehran from Tehran: They bused Basijis into Tehran University and they were given loudspeakers. I didn't see anyone get arrested, but I saw some students getting beaten up.
Ramin in Tehran: The Basijis were even more violent than on November 4. I saw a girl being dragged on the ground in Amir Kabir University by the Basijis.
Nahid in Tehran: The people were supporting the students, even though the security forces showed particular violence. I was on a bus when they threw a tear gas canister into the vehicle. The bus driver had to open the doors so we could get out. There was so much tear gas that even some police officers asked us for cigarettes so they could use the smoke to counter the tear gas.
Massoud in Mazandaran: The plainclothesmen attacked Sari University, where I study. We'll fight to the last drop of our blood for freedom. The people outside the university were supporting us. I heard from a friend at Rasht University that it was the same situation over there. I've had my share of being beaten with batons and I'm not afraid any more. We have no hope. We're just studying to keep busy.
Email from a student from Sanandaj University: The university was in turmoil today. We'll continue fighting for our rights.
Email from Ahvaz: It was like martial law. Every group of even two or three people was attacked by security forces.
Email from Shiraz: Young and old, man and woman, were beaten. We'll keep coming, even if they might kill us.
3:45 PM GMT - 7:15 PM Tehran time Tehran
To be fair and balanced, here's a photo of Basijis at Tehran University (looks more like 6.3% than 63%. Please compare to previous footage of the large number of protesters singing 'Yareh Dabestani Man' at Tehran University.):
3:30 PM GMT - 7:00 PM Tehran time Hamedan
Disturbing reports of vicious attacks on students at Hamedan's Bou Ali Sina University. Gooya News writes that several students were seriously injured, including a young man who was thrown out of an upstairs window by Basijis. The young man had been transferred to a hospital.
Tehran
Photo of protest at Science and Research Azad University:
Isfahan:
3:00 PM GMT - 6:30 PM Tehran time
Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi called for talks with those who protest the results of the elections. 'After all, there are 13 or 14 million of them, and they're citizens of this country too,' he said. Makarem Shirazi was referring to the 'official results' of the presidential election which claimed Mousavi had garnered about 14 million votes (less than 37%).
Isfahan
Demonstrators in the streets of Isfahan:
Tehran
'Death to Khamenei!':
2:45 PM GMT - 6:15 PM Tehran time Tehran
A rock-strewn street in Tehran, purportedly earlier today, as protesters shout 'Khamenei is a murderer, his guardianship is annulled!':
And the same message on another street:
2:30 PM GMT - 6:00 PM Tehran time Mashhad
More footage purportedly from Mashhad earlier today:
Tehran
Caller on ePersian Radio: I'm on Vali Asr and people are still arriving.
Various reports claim that Hashemi Rafsanjani's daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, was arrested at the Science and Research University. This footage purports to show Faezeh Hashemi at a demonstration today:
Science and Technology students shouting through the fence atthe security forces - 'Get lost paid lackeys!' and 'Death to the dictator!':
Purportedly on Jomhouri Street earlier today:
2:15 PM GMT - 5:45 PM Tehran time Tehran
Tehran is so unequivocally in turmoil that even sites close to the regime have to admit something is going on. Tabnak reported an hour ago that protests were taking place at Science and Research University (Elm-o Tahghighat), Science and Industry University (Elm-o Sanat), and Sharif University. Minutes ago, Tabnak reported that shots had been fired into the air on Enghelab Street and that tear gas had been employed on Vali Asr Square and Vali Asr Street. Tabnak belongs to former IRGC commander and presidential candidate Mohsen Rezai.
Caller to ePersian Radio: The security forces are dismayed and exhausted. Only 30% of security forces are cracking down on the people. The rest aren't doing anything. You should see the energy and courage of the women. If only a few more people join us, we can take over Enghelab Street. Tell people to join us.
Amir Kabir University student leader Majid Tavakoli was arrested minutes ago when he left the campus. Tavakoli was released from prison on June 3, after his second stint in Evin.
Photos of plainclothes regime goons arresting a protester near Enghelab Street:
1:45 PM GMT - 5:15 PM Tehran time Tehran
Very heavy traffic is reported in Tehran. The opposition planned to bring traffic to a standstill at 5 PM and had called on protesters to simply come out into the streets with their cars.
Photos posted by the Jonbesheh Raheh Sabz (Green Path Movement) show police working alongside club-wielding plainclothesmen and Basijis, some very young, as they throw rocks at opposition protesters in streets near Tehran University:
1:30 PM GMT - 5:00 PM Tehran time Kerman
First footage coming in from Kerman University:
Tehran
Footage showing Amir Kabir students breaking the locked university gate, as was reported previously in this blog:
First footage coming from Khajeh Nassir Tousi University:
Bardia, reporter for ePersian Radio, on-site in Tehran: I'm near Enghelab Square. When I reported for you on November 4 (NB Anniversary of the takeover of the US embassy, when opposition protesters exploited the official ceremonies to stage mass rallies), the demonstrations petered out around 2:30 PM. But now, it's almost 5 PM, and the protests are still going on. They're beating the people, but the protesters aren't leaving. I even think that a few individuals were killed. I saw some people lying on the ground, other protesters surrounding them, but the demonstrations are still going on.
1:10 PM GMT - 4:40 PM Tehran time Tehran
Footage of the large number of students at Tehran University singing the protest anthem 'Yareh Dabestani Man':
Footage purportedly showing elderly lady as she recovers after being beaten by security forces:
Amir Kabir University students wave money at Basijis because they are paid lackeys:
12:40 PM GMT - 4:10 PM Tehran time
ePersian Radio has been struck off the Hotbird satellite by electrical interference, making it impossible for Iranians to listen to the programs, according to ePersian reports which can still be heard on the Internet.
Isfahan
First footage coming in from Isfahan University:
Tehran
'Salute to the protesting students':
Footage of Elm-o Sanat University... 'We are women and men of war, fight and we'll fight back!'
12:30 PM GMT - 4:00 PM Tehran time Tehran
Tabnak news, former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezai's news site, confirms that 'plainclothesmen entered Amir Kabir University and broke windows.'
The Islamic Republic News Agency has finally reported that clashes have broken out between protesters ('rioters') and security forces in the streets around Tehran University.
The following footage purports to be from today. Of note: Protesters in T-shirts may mean the video is from earlier this year, however I have not seen this footage before:
12:10 PM GMT - 3:40 PM Tehran time Tehran
Protesters are fighting back in several locations around Tehran: Ferdowsi Square, Vali Asr Street, Enghelab Street, 7th Tir Square. The security forces are countering protesters in 7th Tir Square with particular aggression.
This video is purportedly of Amir Kabir University at around 1:30 PM local time:
Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naghdi, the new head of the Basij militia, shot the Tehran traffic control chief, Hojjatollah Behrouz, in the foot at a crisis meeting on Tuesday, December 1, according to opposition web sites.
The meeting had been called to prepare for opposition plans to bring Tehran automobile traffic to a halt on December 7, Student Day in Iran, at 5 PM. The opposition, particularly students, are expected to hold mass protests throughout the country on that day.
The Basij commander allegedly pulled out his sidearm during a heated exchange with Behrouz and shot him in the foot, according to an e-mail reproduced on opposition web sites. The e-mail purports to be from a journalist in a reformist newspaper. Some reports claim the journalist belongs to the editorial staff of Aftabeh Yazd daily and that the newspaper's editor-in-chief has decided not to publish the news in tomorrow's edition.
Senior IRGC officers and traffic control directors attended the emergency meeting held on Tuesday, according to a participant, to discuss ways to counter deliberate disruptions in Tehran's automobile traffic on December 7. Tempers rose when traffic control chief Behrouz apparently told Naghdi that it would be impossible to neutralize such efforts if they were widespread.
'This news has been reported through several channels [...] and it appears to be true,' said Mohsen Sazegara, a founder of the IRGC and currently a dissident in Washington, in his daily video address on Sunday (starts at 5:03 mark):
'At a meeting held at the traffic control center in Tehran's City hall, Mr. Hojjatollah Behrouz said that his office and Tehran's City Hall did not have the capability to control people who were planning to block traffic by coming out into the streets with their cars on December 7,' says Sazegara in the video. 'General Naghdi [...], with his corrupt record, apparently lost his temper and shot Mr. Behrouz in the foot and sent him to the hospital.'
The Secrets of Khamenei's Life The secret life of Iran's Leader, Ali Khamanei, is exposed by former staff members of the Intelligence Ministry and his household in a fascinating article by internationally renowned filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf... (part 1)(part 2)(part 3) Humiliation even in death Detailed analysis of several videos shows the final moments of a protester run over by a car and the refusal of her body by a medical center... (more)
The banality of evil Shocking footage of a man being lashed in Iran reminds the viewer of what Hannah Arendt called the banality of evil... (more) Provisional list of 72 dead protesters Originally compiled by the opposition committee looking into the abuse and deaths of protesters, the list has been enhanced with photos, video footage, and commentary... (more)
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