Witnesses report fierce clashes on Tehran streets

Witnesses said police fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands of protesters who rallied in Tehran yesterday in open defiance of Iran's clerical government, sharply escalating the most serious internal conflict since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Eyewitnesses described fierce clashes near Revolution Square in central Tehran after some 3,000 protesters chanted "Death to the dictator!" and "Death to dictatorship!" Police responded with tear gas and water cannons, the witnesses said.

English-language state TV said a blast at the Tehran shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had killed one person and wounded two but the report could not be independently confirmed due to government restrictions on independent reporting.