A large group of young Iranian Kurds interrupted Khatami's speech in a sports stadium in the city of Sanandaj, provincial capital of Iranian Kurdistan, on Saturday, August 5, and chanted antigovernment slogans and clashed with Revolutionary Guards and security forces. They threw stones and pieces of wood at the Guards. The scuffles disrupted the meeting and Khatami interrupted his speech several times and called on the infuriated young Kurds to maintain order.

When Khatami's speech ended, large groups of young people converged on Chaharbagh Square and began chanting "down with mullahs" rule, "down with Khamenei," "down with Khatami" and "no freedom possible while the bearded rule." When Revolutionary Guards and State Security Forces charged at the crowd, clashes spread and the demonstrators smashed the windows of government buildings, including banks.
 

"Demonstration" to Support Curbs on Press, Agence France Presse, August 7

TEHRAN - Hundreds of people rallied outside the Iranian parliament Monday in support of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, a day after he quashed reformist hopes of repealing the nation's tough press laws.

The crowd chanted "US-style reforms, Never, never!" and "Woe the day that my leader gives me the command for jihad (holy war). The world's armies will not be able to stop me."

The afternoon Kayhan newspaper reported that demonstrators were planning to stay on into the night and that some had called for MPs who challenged Khamenei's decree to be "seriously dealt with."

Khamenei on Sunday banned the parliament from debating and voting on a motion to roll back press curbs.

The shock announcement led to a scuffle on the chamber floor between MPs, an event which angered the fiercest partisans of Khamenei, who has final say over almost all matters of state.

Official and religious groups also published statements praising Khamenei's action and slamming reformists who objected to it.
 

Pro-Khatami MPs Praise Khamenei as the "Pillar of the System", Reuters, August 7

TEHRAN - "Reformist" members of parliament said on Monday they would try to reach a compromise on liberalizing press laws after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stepped in to block a reform bill.

Ali Shakourirad, a key member of parliament, said fellow reformers would press for a meeting with Khamenei to raise their concerns and try to reach a compromise.

"The leader is a pillar of the system. No one is indifferent to his views. There's a need for a satisfying debate between deputies and the leader to remove the misunderstanding," newspapers quoted him as saying.

Khamenei's action not only gutted one of the reformists' central election promises but also appeared to sanction increased pressure on the press, already reeling from mass closures and arrests of prominent journalists.
 

Courts Vow to Stamp Out Press "Corruption", Agence France Presse, August 7

TEHRAN - Iran's judiciary announced Monday it was determined to stamp out "corrupt" elements working in collusion with the foreign press, state radio reported.

"Some of these elements are at the origin of propaganda campaigns against the regime and cooperate with foreign media such as the Voice of America and Israeli radio, the BBC and Radio Free Iran," said Abbas Alizadeh, head of the judiciary in Tehran province.
 

Writer Detained, Associated Press, August 7

TEHRAN - Bolstered by an order from Iran's supreme leader that undercut hopes of greater press freedom, hard-liners arrested a journalist and shut down a newspaper on Monday.

"Death to opponents of absolute jurisprudence. ... We are ready to give our life for Imam Khamenei," shouted the hard-line protesters, outside parliament, many of them wearing the chafieh, a cloth usually draped on the shoulders by the hard-line Ansar-e-Hezbollah group.

In Washington, the State Department said it had "very serious concerns" over the suspension of debate on the bill. But spokesman Richard Boucher said the loosening of U.S. trade restrictions with Iran, passed in February, would not be reversed.

Using powers granted by the restrictive press law the reformers had hoped to amend, plainclothes security forces arrested journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi at his home Monday.

Also Monday, the weekly Cheshmeh Ardebil in northwestern Iran was ordered closed for four months on charges of "disturbing public opinion" and "insulting Islamic sanctities," the daily Abrar reported.

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