Iranian Opposition Green Movement Protest Begins In Tehran

Iranian opposition Green Movement protesters are planning to take to the streets en masse Monday, despite an official government ban.

Dubbed the 25th of Bahman protests, activists plan to take to the streets in cities across Iran to show “solidarity with the Egyptian people,” although many have speculated that demands for human rights and democracy within Iran will also be voiced.

Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Moussavi and Medhi Karroubi are rumored to be attending the rally in Tehran, although they have both have had their communications with the outside world silenced by the regime in recent days.

An unidentified correspondent for PBS in Tehran noted:

What will happen Monday, history will record in less than 24 hours. The atmosphere is filled by suspense over the call for demonstration. Certainly the city is not calm. There were chants of “Allah-o akbar” across Tehran. People expect something to happen. Publicly, Mr. Karroubi and Mr. Mousavi have called for a demonstration in solidarity with the people of Egypt. Nobody thinks or believes this is about Egypt or will remain focused on Egypt. No wonder that their request has been rejected as illegal.

The Iranian government has denied the organizers a permit to hold the rallies, although many expect them to take to the streets regardless.

Protests are slated to take place from Tehran to Babol and from Shiraz to Isfahan. A complete list of protest sites can be found here.

PBS’ Tehran Bureau has extensive live coverage as Iran gears up for the approaching opposition protests; they can be followed here.

As of early Monday morning in Tehran, shouts of Allahu Akbar (God is Great) and “Down with the Dictator” were heard ringing out across Tehran:

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