Clashes escalate in Tehran between the Police and protesters

Clashes that erupted this morning between demonstrators and security forces in central Tehran escalated throughout the early evening, spreading from the south to the far north of the capital, as the peak of a 10-day religious holiday approaches.

Plainclothes security officials stormed a famous north Tehran compound, home to the family of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and barred former President Mohammad Khatami from giving a speech.

Afterward, clashes erupted between thousands of demonstrators and security forces in nearby Tajrish and Niavaran squares, according to reformist websites. Shots were fired into the air, witnesses said. LAT