Iran on Thursday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid international and domestic tensions. Early in the morning, Iran's state TV has shown thousands of pro-government demonstrators rallying to mark the anniversary.
Thursday's pro-government rallies in Tehran ended at Azadi square, where the president delivered a speech.
The opposition has vowed to stage counter demonstrations, as security forces have deployed hundreds of agents in central Tehran to confront them. According to the AP, opposition activists went on roof tops late Wednesday and shouted "God is greatest" in protest.
Later, Iranian opposition leaders Mohammad Khatami and Mehdi Karroubi were attacked and their supporters clashed with police during the marches, an opposition website and Karroubi's son said. The cars of the leaders came under attack by police but neither was hurt, website Rahesabz and Karroubi's son Hossein said.
Rahesabz website reported that ex-president Khatami's brother Mohammad Reza and his wife Zahra Eshraghi were briefly arrested by security forces but later freed. Hossein Karroubi was quoted as saying by AFP that his father was "not injured but his guards who were accompanying him were." Karroubi's other son Ali was also arrested, Hossein said.
