Unrest in Iran spreads to provinces as students clash with security forces

          
          Unrest in Iran spreads to provinces as studeras clash with security forces http://wwwguardiaacou lc/world/2009/Jun'16/iran-shiraz-university-chan .
          guardlancouk
          Unrest in Iran spreads to provinces as
          students clash with security forces
          Robert Tait
          guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 16 June 2009 21.10 BST
          A is z risia
          The head of one of jç fs most prestigious universities resigned today in protest at a
          security forces attack believed to have left at least one student dead. Mohammad Hadi
          Sadeghi stepped down as chancellor of Shiraz University after riot police and special
          forces stormed a library and fired teargas.
          More than 100 students were arrested and at least one staff member was assaulted. The
          confrontation, on Monday, was the latest in a series in Shiraz since last week and
          feelings ran high today. Autnews, a website run by students at Tehran's Amir Kabir
          University, reported that tension had spread into the city. One rally, in Shiraz, was
          assailed by security forces, causing violent clashes and many arrests. Armed security
          forces lined the street leading to the university shoulder to shoulder.
          Similar incidents were reported elsewhere. In Mashhad, the volunteer Basij militia and
          Ansar-e Hezbollah vigilante movement clashed with students at Ferdowsi University.
          Two political leaders, Mehdi Abayi, head of the Islamic Participation party, in Khorasan,
          and Amir Eghtenaee, leader of the provincial branch of the Tahkim-e Vahdat student
          movement, were arrested.
          Unrest was also reported at universities in Sistan-Baluchestan, Kermanshah, and
          Mazandaran. Unconfirmed reports suggested two people died in Orumiyeh in a rally of
          more than 3,000 people.
          In Qom, HQ of Iran's clerical establishment, the only reported demonstrations were
          against the former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, widely seen as a key backer of the
          defeated reformist candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi.
          guardian. co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
          lofi 1O/19/20092:49PM