Security forces stop rallies on the streets of Tehran

Thousands of Iranian security personnel were deployed on the streets of Tehran and other cities yesterday to prevent protesters rallying in spite of a ban.

The websites of opposition leaders Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi had issued calls for nationwide rallies to commemorate two people killed in protests last week and show "decisive support to the pro-reform movement and its leaders". Reports that one person had been killed in clashes in central Tehran were denied by a senior government official.

The daughter of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was detained for "chanting provocative slogans" at a rally. But the semi-official Fars news agency later said she had been released after saying she was "out shopping for clothes".