News

The last Friday in the fasting month of Ramadan is known in Iran as al-Quds (Jerusalem) day, an occasion for the zealous to take to the streets to chant "Death to Israel" and demonstrate in support of Palestinians.

For many Iranians, yesterday's event took on new significance. Deprived of avenues of protest against the disputed June presidential election, the country's reformist opposition took advantage of the annual march in Tehran to demonstrate its anger.

"No Gaza, no Lebanon, my life is for Iran," they chanted, a slogan recommended the day before by reformist websites.

Iran's reformists are still challenging the regime, three months after the vote that returned the fundamentalist Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad to power and provoked the most dramatic turmoil in the Islamic Republic since its foundation in 1979.