(New York Times) A third night of student protests occurred in the neighborhoods surrounding Tehran University early Friday, with large gangs of students fighting running street battles against vigilantes armed with sticks and chains. The demonstrators, chanting "Death to Khamenei," appeared to be in the thousands. It was a far wider protest than on two previous nights - indeed, the largest street demonstrations to erupt in the capital in four years. The protests are being fueled by calls to pour into the streets from opposition-run Persian-language television stations in the U.S. In a nationally televised speech on Thursday, Ayatollah Khamenei accused the U.S. of trying to foment disorder and warned protesters that the government would be merciless against those acting in the interests of foreign powers.
2003-06-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive