Mousavi supporters rally in Iran, mourn dead

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writers Ali Akbar Dareini And Nasser Karimi, Associated Press Writers – 21 mins ago
TEHRAN, Iran – Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi rallied in the streets of Tehran again Thursday over the disputed presidential election, answering the opposition leader’s call to turn out dressed in black to mourn demonstrators killed in clashes, a witness said.

The protest by opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in open defiance of the country’s supreme leader, who has urged the nation to unite behind the Islamic state. It came a day after tens of thousands marched silently down a main street of the capital, brandishing posters of Mousavi and waving V-for-victory signs, amateur video showed. Some covered their mouths with masks.

International news organizations have been banned from covering the protests over last Friday’s election, which the government declared hard-line Ahmadinejad won by a landslide. Mousavi and his supporters claim the election was rigged and he was the true winner.

On Monday, hundreds of thousands turned out in a huge procession that recalled the scale of protests during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Seven demonstrators were shot and killed that day by pro-regime militia in the first confirmed deaths during the unrest.

Mousavi’s Web site said he may join the rally Thursday but it was not immediate clear if he attended. The rally began late in the afternoon in downtown Tehran, according to the witness who spoke on condition of anonymity out of safety concerns.

virtual visit to Iran

Iran- A country full of regilious/traditional values…….
Would love to visit some time…..if i got chance

Iran Travel Documentary Part. 1

Iran Travel Documentary Part. 2

Iran Travel Documentary Part. 3

After rowdy campaign, Iranians choose a president

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranians voted Friday on whether to keep hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power for four more years or replace him with a reformist more open to loosening the country’s Islamic restrictions and improving ties with the United States.

The rowdy election campaign, which lasted less than a month, electrified many voters here and reshaped how the world sees Iran’s political process. The mass street demonstrations, polished campaign slogans and televised debates more closely resembled Western elections than the scripted campaigns in most other Middle Eastern countries.

Iran’s cell phone text messaging system was down on Friday. Many Iranians, especially young voters — many of whom favor Ahmadinejad’s top opponent — frequently used text messages to spread election information quickly to friends and family.

Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is in a neck-to-neck battle with Ahmadinejad, accused Iran’s telecommunications provider, which is owned by the government, of shutting the system and alleged that some of his representatives were barred from entering polling stations to monitor the vote.