Photo via fcnn.com

Riot in Tehran streets after election day: "Death to the dictator!"

Supporters of the main election challenger to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clashed with police and set up barricades of burning tires today as authorities declared the hard-line president was re-elected in a landslide, reports FCNN.com.

Opponents responded with the most serious unrest in the capital in a decade and charges that the result was the work of a "dictatorship."

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, closed the door on any chance he could use his limitless powers to intervene in the disputes from Friday's election. In a message on state TV, he urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, calling the result a "divine assessment."

Thousands of angry people have massed in Tehran to protest at the election result, with some pelting stones at baton-wielding police."Down with the dictator!" shouted the crowd as they streamed into one of the capital's main squares after latest results showed incumbent hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had secured a landslide win.

Hundreds of other people also gathered near the interior ministry in central Tehran, shouting: "Death to the dictator!"

A furious mob threw stones at police who hit back with sticks to try to disperse demonstrators gathered around central Tehran's Vanak Square.Protesters, including women, were also hit with sticks in Tehran's Valiasr Street as riot police on motorbikes moved in to break up a gathering outside Mr Mousavi's office.

TAGS: Iran main election Mahmoud Ahmadinejad riots Ayatollah Ali Khamenei election result protest

[06/16/2009]

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