Photo Gallery Unrest Rocks Tehran
Protesters in Tehran: Several hundred thousand government opponents took to the streets of the Iranian capital on Monday.
They claim the presidential election held on Friday, June 12, was fraudulent and want the results annulled.
The situation escalated just hours after the announcement of the election result, which had incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected with a clear majority.
Ahmadinejad first dismissed the protesters as the equivalent of disappointed football hooligans -- statements that further escalated emotions.
Many protesters wore green, the color associated with Ahmadinejad's challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi. He called on supporters to protest peacefully against the allegedly manipulated election result.
Despite a ban on demonstrations on Monday, hundreds of thousands of Mousavi supporters took to the streets on his behalf. At times, there were serious skirmishes between protesters and state security authorities.
The brutality employed by the authorities and religious militias prompted serious international concern, particularly the deaths of seven protesters who were reportedly shot.
Newspapers that supported Mousavi were also temporarily closed, sparking international outrage.
The protesters gathered near Azadi Square in Tehran.
There, Mousavi made his first appearance since Friday's election in front of a crowd estimated in the hundreds of thousands.
Opposition leaders claim data obtained from the Iranian Interior Ministry shows that Mousavi won far more votes than Ahmadinejad. Ministry officials have disputed those claims.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's spiritual leader, has ordered the Guardian Council to probe the election result to ensure no fraud took place. But the announcement wasn't enough to stop the violence.
Efforts to restrain protesters failed. Here, demonstrators scale the Freedom Tower monument, spray-painting a graffiti slogan in Farsi reading, "Salute to Mousavi, Down with the Dictator, Mousavi."
Others set a car on fire in front of a pro-government militia base, and attacked government security forces.
Flames continued to burn at the milita base into Monday night.
Meanwhile, Mousavi supporters continued to protest in the streets.
Further protests were planned for Tuesday, despite a ban on demonstrations -- but late on Tuesday Mousavi had reportedly tried to cancel them to avoid more violence.
