Rivals rally in Tehran to show strength

TEHRAN (AFP/Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his defeated challenger staged rival rallies on Tuesday as the nation grappled with its worst crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The authorities also imposed a clampdown on foreign media. Ahmadinejad’s supporters appeared to have denied the Opposition the chance to keep up the momentum of mass street protests by mobilising thousands of demonstrators in central Tehran where Mirhossein Mousavi’s supporters had planned to gather again.
But authorities banned another Opposition rally on Tuesday and state television showed live pictures of thousands of Ahmadi-nejad supporters, some waving Iranian flags, gathering at the Vali-ye Asr Square before any Mousavi supporters arrived. 7 people have so far been killed in clashes with police in Tehran.
US President Barack Obama, who has called for dialogue with Iran over its contested nuclear drive, raised “deep concerns” over the election but said he would not meddle in the affairs of the Islamic republic. State television described the regime-backed demonstration as a “unifying rally,” showing images of vast crowds of demonstrators waving flags and banners.
Mousavi had urged his supporters not to turn up for their own rally in a bid to avoid clashes, but a correspondent with Iran’s English language Press TV said it had turned into a “massive” demonstration.
His supporters marched towards the state television building, despite Mousavi’s call for them to call off a planned rally.
However, AFP could not reach the site of the demonstrations as Iran has banned foreign media organisations from covering such events. The authorities have warned they would nip any “velvet revolution” in the bud and have rounded up scores of people in Tehran and other cities, including prominent reformist leaders close to former president Mohammad Khatami. Iran arrested two prominent reformists on Tuesday, their aides said.