Rounding up unusual suspect in Iran

BBC:

At least 10 people were killed when police clashed with "terrorists" in Tehran on Saturday, state TV says.

The official reports, which cannot be confirmed, accuse "rioters" of setting two petrol stations and a mosque ablaze in protest at a disputed poll result.

State media also say five family members of one of Iran's most powerful figures, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, were arrested during the protests.

Meanwhile Iran has ordered the BBC's Jon Leyne out of the country.

"With regret, we can confirm that Jon Leyne, the BBC's permanent correspondent in Tehran has been asked to leave by the Iranian authorities. The BBC office remains open," a BBC statement said.

Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV said on Sunday its Tehran office, which was closed by the Iranian authorities a week ago, had been ordered to stay shut indefinitely for "unfair reporting" of the 19 June election.

The protests were sparked by disputed presidential elections, but have since escalated into Iran's most serious internal conflict since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has demanded an end to protest.

Witnesses said there did not appear to be any opposition gatherings or demonstrations on Sunday, according to the AFP news agency.

Reports of Saturday's violence cannot be verified as foreign media in Iran are being severely restricted.

In other developments:

• Iran's most senior dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri calls for three days of national mourning for those killed in street protests, Reuters news agency reports
• Former pro-reform President Mohammad Khatami calls for the release of detained activists
• Iran police chief Gen Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghaddam warns any further unrest will be confronted "decisively"
• Iranian officials again attack the UK for "interfering".

The state TV report said 10 people had been killed and more than 100 wounded in clashes between police and "terrorist groups" in Tehran. Apart from the petrol stations, it said "rioters" had also attacked a military post.

Early reports said an unspecified number of people had died when "rioters" set a mosque on fire, but revised reports later said there had been no deaths at the mosque. A correction was also issued reducing the overall death toll to 10 from 13.

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen, in Tehran, says the reports could serve as a warning to Iranians that if they take part in further protests they risk getting embroiled in violence, or being identified as a "terrorist".

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Isn't it strange that the "terrorist" have killed no one, but many unarmed citizens have been killed by Ahmadinejad's brown shirts Basij, as well as police. Instead of arresting the killers the regime arrest the speakers. They must fear what is being said.

The fact is the regime has lost it legitimacy and it cannot retrieve it by killing demonstrators. Even if it successfully suppresses the rebellion, it can not get its legitimacy back. Obama may try to give it back with negotiations, but for the people of Iran it has been lost completely.