Chaos in Iran, suicide bomb kills 60+ in Iraq

This image taken from amateur video posted online from Tehran June 20 shows supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossien Mousavi protesting in Tehran. Eyewitnesses described fierce clashes after some 3,000 protesters, many wearing black, chanted "Death to the dictator!" and "Death to dictatorship!" near Revolution Square. (Fox News)

Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of the presidential elections last weekend, but turmoil and violence continue to rule in Iran, particularly in the capital city of Tehran.

Rallies again led to clashes between sides--Mousavi vs. Ahmadinejad supporters--and with Iranian security forces trying to control the protesters.

Although the Iranian government sent notices to journalists prohibiting them from covering the demonstrations, numerous news and witness reports, including images and video, are being leaked to the media via blogs, instant messaging and websites such as Facebook and Twitter, among other outlets, and broadcast by news networks such as CNN.

The images show streets packed with protesters and police, and instances of beatings, gunfire, wounded people lying on the ground bleeding, tear gas and water cannons being used by security forces, and motor vehicles on fire, among others. Mousavi supporters reportedly set a mosque on fire.
One video shows police hitting women with clubs. Several show men and women lying on the ground covered in blood after being beaten or shot, and in another a woman is trying to protect a young man who's being beaten and kicked by protesters after being thrown off his bike.
Several Twitter reports stated a hospital close to the scene is reporting 30 to 40 casualties and more than 200 injured.

Iranian state media is reporting the situation has returned to normal with "sporadic clashes." Mousavi said today he's ready for martyrdom willing to die for the cause behind the protests--the claim that last week presidential elections were rigged. Meanwhile, rallies against the Iran elections are underway at several U.S. cities, among them New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., as well as in foreign cities such as Hamburg, Germany; Sidney, Australia; and Paris, France.

Yesterday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei backed Ahmadinejad during the Friday morning prayer session.

Left: An image of the ayatollah delivering his sermon, taken from IRIB television by The Associated Press. (AP/IRIB)

He said Ahmadinejad won a "definitive victory" in the June 12 election and denied vote-rigging, adding that "rioting after the election is not a good way. It questions the election. If they continue [the consequences] will be their responsibility. ... I'm asking my friends and brothers to follow the laws. Let God give us blessing to follow those ways."

Well, how could they protest the election results before the election?

He praised Ahmadinejad as a "hard working" leader and blamed western governments and media for undermining the election process. Ugh.

Many residents, however, shouted "Allahu Akbar!" and "Death to the dictator!" from rooftops throughout Tehran in defiance to Khamenei, NBC News reported..

Suicide truck bomb kills over 60 people in Iraq

In Iraq, a suicide truck bombing near a Shiite mosque killed at least 64 people and wounded at least 166 Saturday in a city close to Kirkuk, Iraq, an official with Kirkuk police said according to a CNN report.

The explosion occurred in a busy area near the Rasoul mosque, police said, and a number of people were trapped under rubble.

Police said at least 25 houses and shops were destroyed.

The blast took place about 1 p.m. in the town of Taza, about 10 miles southwest of Kirkuk and 149 miles north of Baghdad, CNN reported. Taza is predominately inhabited by Shiite Turkmen.

Above: Iraqis search through the wreckage of a truck bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Saturday. (Getty Images)

Last week, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned of increased political violence in the country, mentioning a deadly bombing on June 10 in the southern town of Bathaa that killed more than 30 people and injured dozens.

He said there will be attempts to undermine Iraqi security forces as U.S. troops complete their withdrawal from Iraqi cities by the end of the month and ahead of upcoming national elections.

Sources: BNO, CNN, Reuters, Fox News
Copyright © 2009

Unrest in Iran upon disputed election results

Right: Iranian riot police stand in front of a cloud of tear gas, as supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi fight running battles using stones and petrol bombs against police, as they protesting the results of the Iranian presidential election in Tehran, Iran, today, June 13. (Photo: AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Hell just broke loose in Iran. Just watch the videos of protesters clashing with police and you'll see what I mean. Be glad you're not there.

Riots broke in Tehran as news of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landslide election victory spread throughout the city.

Ahmadinejad won 62.63 percent of the vote while chief rival Mir Hossein Moussavi received 33.75 percent, the Iranian government said Saturday. The reformist opposition candidate is contesting the results, claiming fraud.

At a press conference, Mousavi declared himself "definitely the winner" based on "all indications from all over Iran." He accused the government of "manipulating the people's vote" to keep Ahmadinejad in power and suggested the reformist camp would stand up to challenge the results, AP reported.

"It is our duty to defend people's votes. There is no turning back," Mousavi said, alleging widespread irregularities.

Millions of mostly young Iranians desperate for change and who supported Mousavi in passionate pre-election rallies were crushed and furious. They clashed with police and set up barricades of burning tires upon learning about the results of the election.

Correspondents say the violence is the worst seen in Tehran in a decade, BBC reported.

A statement from Mousavi posted on his website urged his supporters to resist a "governance of lie and dictatorship."

"I'm warning that I won't surrender to this manipulation," he said. "The outcome of what we've seen from the performance of officials ... is nothing but shaking the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran sacred system and governance of lie and dictatorship."

Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad said Saturday the election in which he secured another four-year term was "free and healthy," rejecting allegations of irregularities by a moderate rival in the vote without making direct reference to Mousavi's remarks, Reuters reported.

"Everybody should respect people's vote...we need a calm atmosphere to build the country," Ahmadinejad said amid the protests.

The results flowed quickly after polls closed showing the hard-line president with a comfortable lead, defying expectations of a nail-biter showdown following a month of fierce campaigning and bringing immediate charges of vote rigging by Mousavi, AP reported.

It was even unclear how many Iranians were even aware of Mousavi's claims of fraud, according to the report, as communications disruptions began in the later hours of voting Friday, suggesting an information clampdown, according to various news reports. State television and radio only broadcast the Interior Ministry's vote count and not Mousavi's midnight press conference.

Sadeq Mahsouli, the country’s interior minister, on Saturday lauded the “unprecedented” turnout. He had said 85 percent of 46 million eligible voters had gone to the polls.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, closed the door on any chance he could use his limitless powers to intervene in the disputes from Friday's election, AP reported. In a message on state TV, he urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, calling the result a "divine assessment" and the voters’ turnout a show of Iran’s “pride” and “honor.”

Iran does not allow international election monitors. During the 2005 election, when Ahmadinejad won the presidency pledging to revive the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution, there were some allegations of vote rigging from losers, but the claims were never investigated.

His face covered with a green scarf symbolizing his party's color, a supporter of Iranian reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi holds a stone as others burn a trash bin in Tehran, Saturday, June 13, 2009. Mousavi supporters clashed with police and set up barricades of burning tires as authorities claimed the hard-line president was re-elected in a landslide. (AP Photo).

The U.S. and Canada challenged Iran's claims that hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election, but much of the rest of the world remained silent Saturday despite claims of fraud and scenes of clashes on the streets of Tehran.

Iran is a key economic player in the region, a perceived threat to Israel's national security, and a major worry for the U.S. and allies who fear Tehran is trying to build a nuclear weapon.

"We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran, but we, like the rest of the world, are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide," Clinton told reporters in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said his country, too, was "deeply concerned" by reports of irregularities.

Most countries appeared to be taking a wait-and-see approach, including the European Union and China, Germany, Italy and Japan--nations with strong economic ties to Iran.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said concerns about ballot counting that candidates have expressed are an issue for Iranian authorities to address.France said it was closely following the situation.

Following are the latest headlines related to this story:

• Iran's opposition leader Mousavi calls on all his supporters to avoid violence.

• A senior US official tells Reuters that the U.S. is "not yet ready" to pronounce the outcome of Iran's election; urges peaceful resolution.

• Cell phone service in Tehran is down while Facebook and websites affiliated with Ahmadinejad's top opponent have been blocked.
  

Source: BNO News, AP, Reuters, CNN, BBC, USA Today, CBS News