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January 4, 2010 |
Three days in Iran
Supporters of the opposition to Iran's current ruling regime continue to gather, speak out, and protest - despite the risks of imprisonment, injury or death, and the continued official restrictions on foreign media coverage. On December 21st, 2009, thousands of Iranians attended a funeral ceremony for Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the spiritual father of Iran's reform movement, who had passed away at the age of 87. In the days following the funeral, mourners and protesters took to the streets defying an official ban on such memorial services. On the Muslim holy day of Ashoura, December 27th, protesters and riot police clashed in multiple locations in Tehran, leaving many injured and between 8 and 37 protesters killed, including the nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. Days later, on December 30th, the Iranian government organized its own protest - against the opposition - giving all civil servants the day off to attend, providing dozens of buses and free chocolate milk for demonstrators. Collected here are photos from the three days, most taken by anonymous photographers, acquired outside the country by press agencies who are restricted by the government ban. (33 photos total)

Two pro-reform Iranian women attend the funeral ceremony of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the spiritual father of Iran's reform movement, as they wear green headbands, the symbolic color of Iranian opposition, in the holy city of Qom, 125 km (78 mi) south of the capital Tehran, Iran on Monday, Dec. 21, 2009. Montazeri, who died Sunday at the age of 87, was a key figure in the 1979 Islamic Revolution who later accused his fellow clerical leaders of imposing dictatorship in the name of Islam. (AP Photo)

Iranians follow a truck transporting the coffin of dissident cleric Ayatollah Hossein Ali Mintazeri in the Shi'ite holy city of Qom, Iran on December 21, 2009. Large crowds of mourners chanted anti-government slogans during the funeral of Iran's leading dissident cleric Montazeri in the holy city of Qom on Monday, websites reported. (REUTERS/Stringer) #
December 27

Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi (center) receives condolences for the death of his nephew Seyed Ali Habibi-Mousavi in Tehran. Seyed Ali Habibi-Mousavi, the 35-year-old nephew of Mir Hossein Mousavi, was shot dead in Tehran during protests on December 27 which turned into the bloodiest showdown between opposition protesters and security forces in months. Iranian police said on December 29 that "terrorists" killed the nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in an incident unrelated to anti-government riots. (Arash Ashourinia/AFP/Getty Images) #
December 30

A supporter of the Iranian government waves the flag of Iran as he takes part in a protest against the opposition demonstration during holy day of Ashoura in Tehran December, 30 2009. The demonstration in Tehran's Enghelab square was one of several massive rallies in major Iranian cities, called for by clerics, seminary schools and the armed forces in response to a string of opposition protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed June re-election. (REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl) #
More links and information
Amateur Video From Tehran Appears to Show Shots Were Fired at Protesters - NYTimes.com Lede blog 1/2
Updates on Protests and Clashes in Iran - NYTimes.com Lede blog, 12/27
Standoff in Iran Deepens With New Show of Force - NYTimes.com, 1/1