Iran protester slain after huge pro-reform rally

UPDATED:

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Gunfire from a pro-government militia killed one man and wounded several others Monday after hundreds of thousands of chanting opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marched in central Tehran to support their pro-reform leader in his first public appearance since disputed elections.

The outpouring in Azadi, or Freedom, Square for reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi followed a decision by Iran’s most powerful figure for an investigation into the vote-rigging allegations.

Security forces watched quietly, with shields and batons at their sides.

Later, a group of demonstrators with fuel canisters set a small fire at a compound of a volunteer militia linked to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard as the crowd dispersed from the square. As some tried to storm the building, people on the roof could be seen firing directly at the demonstrators at the northern edge of the square, away from the heart of the rally.

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An Associated Press photographer saw one person fatally shot and at least two others who appeared to be seriously wounded.

The United States was “deeply troubled” by reports of violence and arrests in Iran, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said, but he added that the U.S. knows too little about the conduct of the election to say for sure whether there was fraud.

The chanting demonstrators had defied an Interior Ministry ban and streamed into central Tehran — an outpouring for Mousavi that swelled as more poured from buildings and side streets.

The crowd — many wearing the trademark green color of Mousavi’s campaign — was more than five miles (nine kilometers) long, and based on previous demonstrations in the square and surrounding streets, its size was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.

“I am ready to pay any price to materialize the ideals of you dear people,” he said, speaking though a portable loudspeaker. “People feel their wisdom has been insulted. We have to pursue legal channels to regain our trampled rights and stop this last lie, and stand up to fraud and this astonishing charade.”

Mousavi, wearing a gray striped shirt, said his solution was “canceling the result of this disputed election.”

“This will have the least cost for our nation. Otherwise, nothing will remain of people’s trust in the government and ruling system.”

The crowd roared back: “Long live Mousavi.”

One placard said, in English: “This is not election. This is selection.” Other marchers held signs proclaiming “We want our vote!” and they raised their fingers in a V-for-victory salute.

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