Tens of thousands protest in Iran, battling police

TEHRAN, Iran — Security forces and militiamen clashed with thousands of protesters shouting "death to the dictator" outside Tehran University on Monday, beating them with batons and firing tear gas on a day of nationwide student demonstrations, witnesses said.

The rallies were the largest in months, bringing tens of thousands out on more than a dozen campuses around the country and in several major squares in Tehran as university students — a bedrock of support for the pro-reform movement — energized the opposition. The anti-government movement has been reeling under a fierce crackdown since turmoil erupted over the disputed presidential election in June.

Thousands of riot police as well as forces of the elite Revolutionary Guard and their allied Basij militiamen flooded the area around Tehran University since the morning, trying to seal off the campus from the outside world and prevent unrest from spilling out into the streets.

Authorities covered the tall fence around the university with banners and signs bearing slogans from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hiding whatever took place inside. Cell phone networks around the universities were shut down, and police and Revolutionary Guard surrounded entrances, checking IDs of anyone entering to bar opposition activists, witnesses said.

"There's anxiety that there will be violence and shooting. I shout slogans and demonstrate but try not to provoke any clash with the security," Tehran University student Kouhyar Goudarzi told The Associated Press in Beirut by telephone. "We are worried."

The fiercest violence was on the streets outside Tehran University. Thousands or protesters massed in support of the students, some chanting "death to the dictator," witnesses said. Footage posted on YouTube showed some protesters burning pictures of Khamenei — breaking a major taboo against insulting the supreme leader, who stands at the pinnacle of Iran's clerical leadership.

Riot police fired tear gas and Basij militiamen, some on motorcycles, charged the crowds. The plainclothes Basijis beat protesters on their heads and shoulders as the crowd scattered. They regrouped on nearby street corners, setting tires and garbage on fire to ward off the stinging tear gas. Nearby, protesters and Basijis pelted each other with large stones, the witnesses said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Shots were heard on nearby Enghelab Street, witnesses said. Pro-opposition Web sites reported that at least one protester was wounded in the area, but the reports could not be independently confirmed.