Police clash with Tehran protesters

Police were using tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters in the Iranian capital to demand a new presidential election, witnesses said today.

Eyewitnesses contacted by the Associated Press said the demonstrators gathered in central Tehran in open defiance of the cleric-led government.

They said some 3,000 protesters chanted "Death to the dictator!" and "Death to dictatorship!" near Revolution Square in the city.

Police confronted them with tear gas and water cannons.

Witnesses said thousands of police and plain clothes militia members filled the streets to prevent rallies in support of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday warned opposition leaders to end street protests over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election victory or be held responsible for any "bloodshed and chaos" to come.

English-language state TV, meanwhile, reported that a blast at the Tehran shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini killed one person and wounded two. The report could not be independently confirmed.

Witnesses said that across Tehran, thousands of police and plainclothes militia members were filling the streets to prevent rallies.