posted 06-15-2003 04:10 PM            

Iran Blasts U.S. for Backing Pro-Democracy Protests

Reuters
Sunday, June 15, 2003; 8:39 AM

By Jon Hemming

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian officials closed ranks Sunday to criticize the United States for backing a series of pro-democracy demonstrations after thousands staged a fifth night of protests in Tehran.

There were reports of smaller demonstrations in at least three other cities, a sign the momentum of the protests, which Washington hailed as a cry for freedom, may be gathering pace.

Iran's Foreign Ministry accused the United States of "flagrant interference in Iran's internal affairs" and said U.S. officials were overstating the significance of the events.

"The Americans ignore the presence of millions of people to welcome the Supreme Leader and President, but they call the protests of a few individuals the voice of the people," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said in a statement.

Sandwiched between Afghanistan and Iraq, Iran's clerical establishment is unnerved by U.S. pressure mounting since the end of the war in Iraq. Washington accuses Iran of seeking nuclear arms, sponsoring terrorism and fomenting unrest in Iraq.

Police arrested three religious-nationalist leaders on Saturday for inciting riots. The three were among 15 dissidents sentenced in May to up to 11 years in jail for propaganda against the state, but were free pending appeal, newspapers said.

Some 60 people, including 32 policemen, had been injured in five nights of protests in Tehran and five state banks, 22 cars and 34 motorbikes damaged, the official IRNA news agency said.

Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi, a leading figure in Iran's reform movement which has struggled to make headway against powerful conservatives, said Iran was united in its rejection of U.S. pressure.

"All the differences and discussions among the children of the (Islamic) revolution are differences of taste but they are all united against the enemy," he told parliament. "They stand up to the enemy and won't accept any change."

While venting most of their anger at unelected clerics who wield ultimate power in Iran, protesters also lambasted moderate President Mohammad Khatami, accusing him of failing to deliver democracy, justice and social freedoms after six years in office.

U.S. CONCERN

The White House Saturday voiced concern over the violent suppression of the protests by hardline Islamic vigilantes brandishing clubs and chains.

"The United States views with great concern the use of violence against Iranian students peacefully expressing their political views," it said in a statement. "Iranians, like all people, have a right to determine their own destiny and the United States supports their aspirations to live in freedom."

Karroubi praised police for arresting scores of the hardline vigilantes who had terrorized demonstrators in the early hours of Saturday, storming three university dormitories and leaving a trail of smashed furniture and blood on the walls.

He called on families to prevent their children from taking part in the protests and "being tricked by some people abroad."

"We have our own democracy and we will remove the faults in our country," he said. Addressing the United States he said: "You poor people don't have democracy. Our president wins votes and your president wins an election through judicial pressure."

The ISNA student news agency reported clashes in the southern cities of Shiraz and Ahvaz Saturday in which one person was stabbed to death. The hardline Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper also said 500 "hooligans and monarchists" clashed with police in the central city of Isfahan.

But in Tehran earlier Sunday there was no repeat of the violent scenes of the previous night when hardline Islamic vigilantes took control of the streets in central Tehran.

Riot police formed a ring around Tehran University to protect students from the vigilantes who are fiercely loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The vigilantes wear plain clothes but are identified by their beards, untucked shirts and trademark clubs and chains.

Diplomats said the police action against the hardline militants showed authorities were keen to defuse rising tension.