Dozen Injured, Scores Arrested in Iran Rioting

Police fired bullets and tear gas Saturday at rioters who smashed bus windows and shouted slogans against Iran’s Islamic government in the latest outburst of political unrest here.

Screaming “Death to the clerical government!” the rioters burned bundles of hard-line newspapers, shattered shop windows and damaged the shutters on downtown businesses.

Witnesses and authorities blamed the eruption on hooligans trying to stir up trouble after clashes between supporters and opponents of democratic reforms. At least a dozen people were injured, and scores were arrested.

The violence started outside Tehran University during demonstrations marking the first anniversary of a bloody police raid on a university dormitory. It overshadowed student groups’ peaceful commemorations of the July 9, 1999, predawn raid that left one student dead and triggered the widest unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Office for Fostering Unity, the largest pro-reform student group, was quick to disavow the rioters. “The demonstrators were not students,” the group said in a statement.

The trouble came after months of tension between pro-democracy supporters of President Mohammad Khatami and rival hard-liners who have closed down pro-reform newspapers and arrested presidential allies in a bid to roll back reforms. Students are among Khatami’s strongest supporters.

The day began with nonviolent gestures commemorating last year’s raid.

But police arrested a number of students at a demonstration outside the dormitory, saying the gathering took place without permission, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Also, vigilantes attacked an earlier demonstration by pro-reform students. No severe injuries were reported.

The situation degenerated later. Hundreds of people, many armed with rocks, fought dozens of hard-line vigilantes, who also were armed. At least a dozen people were seen being driven away, most with head injuries.