Iranian police stand guard during an anti-Britain protest in front of the British embassy in Tehran June 23, 2009. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
TEHRAN - RIOT police in Iran's capital fired tear gas and bullets in the air on Wednesday in clashes with protesters who converged on a square near the parliament building in defiance of government orders to halt demonstrations demanding a new presidential election, witnesses said.
Security forces - who vastly outnumbered the small group of demonstrators - beat the protesters gathered on Tehran's Baharestan Square with batons and fired tear gas canisters and rounds of ammunition into the air, witnesses said.
They said some demonstrators fought back while others fled to another Tehran plaza, Sepah Square, about 2 kilometers to the north.
A helicopter was seen hovering over central Tehran, where a witness said that the area was swarming with hundreds of riot police who were trying to prevent people from gathering even briefly.
Thousands more security officers filled the surrounding streets, said the witness, who declined to give his name for fear of government reprisals.
'There was a lot of police - riot police and Basiji everywhere,' a 53-year-old housewife said, referring to Iran's volunteer militia corps. She said police stopped her and others from entering the square.
State-run Press TV said security forces dispersed the crowd of 200. 'A heavy presence of the police prevented violence in the area,' it said, calling the gathering 'an illegal rally.'
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's refusal earlier Wednesday to bow to demands from protesters effectively closed the door to any compromise with the opposition.
Khamenei has ordered protests to end, leaving Mr Mousavi with the choice of restraining followers or continuing to directly challenge the country's ultimate authority despite threats of escalating force.
'On the current situation, I was insisting and will insist on implementation of the law. That means, we will not go one step beyond the law,' Khamenei said on state television.
'For sure, neither the system nor the people will yield to pressure at any price.' -- AP
