Iran says more than 500 protesters arrested

Dozens of supporters of the Iranian opposition demonstrate on Wednesday in Paris. Maryam Rajavi, president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the best-known Iranian opposition movement in exile, called for all those opposed to the Islamic regime in Tehran to unite in their efforts to overthrow clerical rule.Photo: AFP

Iran's police chief says more than 500 opposition protesters have been arrested since clashes on Sunday that left at least eight dead.
Gen Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam said yesterday the number of arrests may be higher because hardline Basij militiamen and intelligence agents may have apprehended more people on their own.
The clashes Sunday were the most violent since the aftermath of June's disputed presidential election.
The semiofficial Fars news agency says the nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of those killed on Sunday, was buried Wednesday. Authorities had taken the body from the hospital earlier in the week, in what was seen as an attempt to prevent the funeral from turning into a protest.
Iranian hard-liners called a series of state-sponsored demonstrations on Wednesday in what they hoped would be a massive show of strength against the reformist movement, while the country's police chief threatened to show "no mercy" in crushing any new opposition rallies.
Wednesday's hardline protests, planned in Tehran and several other cities, were the latest official response to what has become the boldest challenge to the ruling system since the Islamic Revolution 30 years ago.
The government has been systematically arresting top opposition activists, including the sister of Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, limited the movement of a top opposition leader and heavily restricted media coverage in the wake of opposition rallies that left eight people dead early this week.
Iran's police chief, Gen Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam said authorities had exhausted their patience with the opposition and promised tough new action.
"In dealing with previous protests, police showed leniency but given that these currents are seeking to topple (the ruling system), there will be no mercy. We will take severe action," the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying. "The era of tolerance is over. Anyone attending such rallies will be crushed."