BICOM

Clashes took place between protestors and the security forces in the Iranian town of Isfahan yesterday, as the authorities sought to quell protests in support of uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. One demonstrator has been reported killed. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday expressed support for protestors in Iran – saying that they deserved the same rights as their counterparts in Egypt, and that there was a need to open up the Iranian political system. The renewed protests are the first major demonstrations in Iran since December 2009. Iran underwent six months of widespread protests following allegedly rigged presidential elections in July 2009. The authorities, using extreme force on occasion, managed to put down the protests at that time. Yesterday’s protests were therefore seen as a test of strength by the Iranian opposition, whose leaders hope to see a similar widespread campaign of protest to that witnessed in Egypt. The authorities had refused permission to the opposition to hold rallies, so the marches were organised in defiance of the government.

It remains likely, however, that the Iranian authorities will be willing to use a level of brute force to quell any challenge to their power which the Egyptian regime, which was heavily dependent on and allied with the US, was not able to contemplate. Meanwhile, additional protests are taking place in a number of Arab countries. Bahraini security forces clashed with Shia protestors in two villages following a call for a ‘day of Rage’ in Bahrain yesterday. The security forces were heavily deployed in the capital, Manama. Bahrain is a majority Shia country ruled over by a Sunni monarchy, and discontent there is focused on demands by the Shia for a greater say in the running of the country’s affairs. In Yemen, too, protests are continuing against the beleaguered regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police in the capital, Sanaa and the neighbouring industrial town of Taiz.