TEHRAN - Out-of-work youth, women and old men joined angry students in Iran's worst outburst of social unrest in the past year, creating a combustible mix.

The trouble began on Saturday after student rallies to mark the first anniversary of the bloody suppression of a pro-democracy rally turned into a general expression of social discontent.

Iran's pro-Khatami student movement, the Office to Consolidate Unity, had called for peaceful commemorations, including the distribution of flowers in a day of passive protest.

It later distanced itself from the unrest, saying the it had nothing to do with students. As they had last year during Tehran's six days of rage, the Office had lost control of events.

Mohammad Khatami also appealed for calm, as did his allies in the new parliament.

"People must be allowed to speak freely and criticize their government. If people are left unsatisfied, this will one day lead to an explosion."

That explosion erupted as a swelling crowd in Revolution Square, just outside the gates of Tehran University, turned on the ruling clerical elite with increasing venom.

Traditional student concerns of free speech and political pluralism were left behind. By the end, university students appeared to number about 10 percent of the crowd.

Instead the protesters, now in their many thousands, targeted supreme leader Ali Khamenei and served notice on Khatami that their patience was running out.

"The clerics live like kings, while the people are reduced to poverty," shouted the crowd. Chants of "Khatami, Khatami, show your power or resign" and "Khatami, Khatami, this is the final notice" swept through the square.

Among the starkest lessons from the latest unrest was the failure of "flower power" in the face of a society increasingly pressured by mounting economic hardship and frustrated in its demands for basic rights and freedoms.

The troubles also underscored the apparent shortcomings in the Khatami camp's tactics of trying simply to outlast their conservative rivals.

Iran Zamin News Agency, July 9: In the wake of Saturday's mass demonstration in Tehran by 50,000 students and residents all the "senior officials and executives" of the mullahs' regime were summoned to attend an emergency meeting at the headquarters of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The entire ruling clique were present in today's meeting, including Khatami, Rafsanjani, Judiciary Chief Shahroudi, Majlis Speaker Karrubi, Guardian Council chief Jannati, and Revolutionary Guards and army top brass, ministers and Majlis deputies.

The meeting considered the irrepressible rise of antigovernment uprisings in different parts of the country, with Saturday's uprising in Tehran being the fourth in less than two weeks, after popular uprisings in Islamshahr (South Tehran), Piranshahr in the northwest, and Abadan in the southwest.

Entekhab (Government-run daily), July 9: "Yesterday's events (in Tehran) proved that the turmoil inside the country is driven and led by hands outside the country... They were chanting 'Incompetent Khatami, this is the final warning, National Liberation Army is ready for uprising' and 'Down with Bassijis' and 'Guns, tanks and (paramilitary) Bassijis are no longer effective'.

Iran Zamin News Agency, July 9: The Iranian Resistance today sent the names of 112 persons detained by the mullahs' regime in the course of Saturday's uprising in Tehran to the United Nations Secretary General, the Security Council, the Commission on Human Rights, and other relevant international authorities and human rights organizations.

Iran Zamin News Agency, July 9: Fearful of the international repercussions of the brutal suppression of the uprising in Tehran, particularly on the eve of Khatami's trip to Germany, the mullahs' regime has prevented foreign journalists and news organizations in Iran from sending out films or images of the uprising.

Reuters, July 9: Supreme leader Ali Khamenei summoned senior officials, including Mohammad Khatami and members of parliament to his residence a day after the unrest in a show of unity at the top.

Reuters, July 9: The protesters challenged the basis of the Islamic system, calling for an end to clergy rule in Iran and demanding a referendum on democracy. Protests also erupted in the southern city of Shiraz and central city of Isfahan.
 

Khatami's Faction Distance Itself From Pro-Democracy Movement, Reuters, July 9

TEHRAN - The allies of Khatami distanced themselves on Sunday from pro- democracy rallies over the weekend which took aim at the heart of the ruling clerical system.

Leaders of the pro-Khatami faction, including a student group, nervously stood by as pro-democracy students clashed with vigilantes on Saturday.

Protests also erupted in the southern city of Shiraz and central city of Isfahan.

The demonstrators challenged the very existence of the Islamic system, calling for an end to clergy rule in Iran and demanding a referendum on democracy.

This is far beyond what Khatami's movement for political and social change advocates and crosses the so-called "red line" for political challenges.

Khatami's allies seek change through peaceful legal channels, remaining faithful to the constitution and the principle of the supreme clerical rule central to Iran's Islamic system.

But many students ignored such peaceful gestures and official bans on rallies, taking to the streets on their own and attracting many ordinary people to join them.
 

Saturday Riots Could Mar Khatami's Visit To Germany, Associated Press, July 9

TEHRAN - Struggling with a floundering economy and fighting the virtually absolute powers of his anti- opponents, Mohammad Khatami has his work cut out for him when he travels to Germany on Monday.

A successful sales pitch would have to concentrate on the idea of a stable and secure Iran, a notion that may be hard to sell following Saturday riots in which about a dozen people were injured.

The riots, in which thousands of demonstrators chanted slogans condemning the clerical establishment and were subsequently attacked by hard-line vigilantes, were a clear sign of Iran's volatility and of the huge gap between moderates and hard-liners.

Khatami's visits to Italy and France last year prompted demonstrations from Iranian opposition groups, and Iran has said it expects Germany to "take the necessary measures" to deal with any protests.
 

Khatami Will Visit Germany amid Political Risks, Agence France Presse, July 9

TEHRAN - Mohammed Khatami begins a state visit to Germany on Monday that has already caused headaches in both countries, as much for the political risks of the trip as for security concerns.

About one-quarter of Germany's parliament has called for Khatami's visit to be cancelled, along with 300 regional parliamentarians.

The visit has also caused concern in Iran, which fears massive demonstrations by the People's Mojahedin, an armed Iranian opposition group the Tehran government calls a terrorist organization.

Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said Sunday that Khatami would ask the Germans to take concrete action against "terrorists" who operate from their country.

Iranian state radio earlier warned that "incidents and acts of insecurity by the opposition during the Iranian head of state's visit to Germany are unacceptable and can harm the two countries' relations and interests."

The Iranian government remembers an academic conference on Iran held in Berlin in April, in which Iranian opposition members blasted the Tehran regime.
 

Protesters in Germany Await Khatami, Reuters, July 9

BERLIN - Mohammad Khatami flies to Germany on Monday, after weekend clashes at home between students and Islamic vigilantes, for a milestone visit facing the prospect of protests from émigré groups.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCR) hopes that up to 25,000 exiled Iranians will stage a peaceful demonstration in Berlin against Tehran's cleric-dominated government.

But a council spokesman said 6,000 supporters had been stopped from coming to Berlin for the protest, while others had been ordered to stay at home and report to police on Monday.

"The police are trying to create an atmosphere terrorizing people so that they do not participate," spokesman Hussein Abedini told Reuters.

Khatami's visit was due to go ahead despite Saturday's clashes between secularist students and vigilantes at a Tehran rally.

An Interior Ministry spokesman confirmed that authorities had turned back Iranians at the frontier -- Germany has suspended Europe's Schengen open borders agreement for the duration of Khatami's three-day visit -- and taken other security measures.

The NCR has a well-oiled public relations machine in Europe and has shown during past visits by Khatami to France and Italy that it can mobilize support in numbers.

It has also won the backing of 175 German members of parliament -- out of 669 deputies in the Bundestag -- for a petition against Khatami's visit. 

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