Clashes Reported Across Tehran as Iran Marks Revolution Anniversary

Disputed Reports Over How Big Opposition Presence Was

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets of central Tehran today to mark the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution. The streets were also filled with security forces, anticipating a large turnout of opposition protesters.

But while there were clashes and arrests reported in several areas around Tehran, it was unclear how large the opposition presence ever actually got. The opposition officially insisted that there were massive numbers of them in the crowd, while would-be protesters expressed disappointment at the small numbers, with many apparently staying away fearing the security crackdown.

Some analysts had expected that today’s massive rallies could be a game-changer for the Iranian opposition, with massive numbers of Iranians on both sides of the issue in close proximity.

But while exact details of what it happening on the ground in Tehran are murky, at best, owing to government censorship of non-state media, the opposition rallies and the clashes appear to have been much, much smaller than previous incidents in the nation.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.