A year since Iran’s presidential poll

TEHRAN: Iran on Saturday marked one year since the disputed presidential election returned hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power, with his rivals uncompromising in their continued opposition to his rule.

However opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have called off plans to stage fresh anti-government demonstrations over safety concerns as the authorities vowed to crack down on any new protests.

The security forces used deadly force to quell the massive street demonstrations that erupted after the results of the June 12 vote last year – a poll which the opposition charged had been massively rigged.

Street protests against Ahmadinejad have not been held for months, and Tehran’s hardline governor renewed warnings on Friday against any attempts to stage demonstrations on Saturday.

Ahmadinejad’s re-election bitterly divided Iran’s political elite, and the regime’s subsequent crackdown on protesters drew a torrent of international condemnation.

In the wake of the 2009 polling day, running street battles between security forces and anti-Ahmadinejad protesters broke out in the capital and other cities, with dozens of people reported killed.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2010.