One Iranian dead as shots fired at Mousavi rally

Iran election protests turn deadly
Play Video
By Parisa Hafezi and Fredrik Dahl
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's hardline Islamic Basij militiamen killed at least one person on Monday and wounded more when their building was attacked by demonstrators protesting an election they say was stolen by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
An Iranian photographer at the scene witnessed the shooting, which came during a demonstration by tens of thousands in the capital Tehran in support of opposition candidate Mirhossein Mousavi who has appealed the election result.
Gunfire was also heard in three districts of wealthy northern Tehran, residents said.
Speaking before the shooting, Mousavi said he was "ready to pay any price" in his fight against election irregularities, his Web site quoted him as saying.
Members of Iran's security forces have at times fired into the air during two days of the Iranian capital's most violent unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and used batons to beat protesters who have pelted police with stones.
The Basij militia is a volunteer paramilitary force fiercely loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has the final say on all matters of state in Iran.
Earlier during the rally, a Reuters reporter said Mousavi supporters had formed a human chain outside the Basij building in order to prevent any trouble when demonstrators passed it.
Shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest), the crowds converged on Revolution Square, where Mousavi addressed part of the crowd through a loud hailer and held his fists clenched above his head, in a sign of victory.
Mousavi said he was not optimistic about his appeal against the result of Friday's election to the 12-man Guardian Council, six of them selected by Khamenei, six elected by parliament.
"Many of its members during the election were not impartial and supported the government candidate," Mousavi said, referring to Ahmadinejad. "I'm urging government forces to stop violence against people," Mousavi said.
The protest took place in defiance of an Interior Ministry ban and was a reply to Ahmadinejad's state-organized victory rally, which also drew vast crowds to Azadi Square on Sunday.
Residents said there had also been peaceful pro-Mousavi demonstrations in the cities of Rasht, Orumiyeh, Zahedan, and Tabriz on Monday.
"MILES OF PROTESTORS"
Supporters stretching along several kilometers (miles) of a Tehran boulevard waved green flags, Mousavi's campaign colors, and held portraits of him aloft as they tried to take pictures on their cellphones -- even though his words could not be heard above the noise of the crowd.
Mousavi, smiling and looking relaxed, had said he was ready in case the election was re-run, state television said. Continued...
Source: Reuters