Several dead and hundreds arrested in opposition protests

Reuters - Five people died in Tehran on Sunday when pro-reform protesters clashed with security forces, police said, in the worst outbreak of violence since June’s contested presidential election sparked political turmoil.

Opposition websites said eight people were killed in Tehran and other cities across Iran when tens of thousands took to the streets during a religious festival. Police in the capital said they were investigating the “suspicious” deaths, the IRNA news agency reported.

Among the dead was opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi’s nephew. State TV said “unknown assailants” killed Ali Habibi Mousavi. A Mousavi aide described the death as a “martyrdom”.

It is the first time people have died in street protests since the immediate aftermath of the June presidential election in which the opposition says more than 70 people were killed.

The authorities have estimated the post-vote death toll at about half that number, including pro-government militiamen.

Opposition website Jaras said police shot and killed four protesters in central Tehran. State TV dismissed foreign media reports that security forces had killed protesters. It said police had fired into the air to disperse demonstrators.

Over 300 protesters were arrested in Tehran, state TV said.  It cited witnesses as saying several banks, bus stops and trash cans were set on fire during the protests.