TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran braced for the possibility of more bloody confrontations between protesters and security forces on the streets of Tehran as fresh images of brutality emerged Sunday despite the regime's attempts to impose a news blackout.
Witnesses claimed that numerous demonstrators were injured - and several allegedly killed - in clashes with black-clad police wielding guns, truncheons, tear gas and water cannons on Saturday as protests over disputed elections escalated into Iran's most serious internal unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Authorities did not confirm any deaths, and the reports from bloggers and Twitter users inside Iran could not immediately be verified.
In a separate incident, a state-run television channel reported that a suicide bombing at the shrine of the Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini killed at least two people and wounded eight. Another state channel broadcast images of broken glass, but no other damage or casualties, and showed a witness saying three people had been wounded.
State TV quoted an unidentified witness as saying a man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up at the mausoleum's main gate. "Thank God, we did not have many casualties," the witness said.
The reports could be not independently evaluated due to government restrictions on journalists.
If proven true, the reports could enrage conservatives and bring strains among backers of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, whose protest movement claims widespread fraud in June 12 elections robbed him of victory and kept hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in office.
Thousands of protesters defied Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to march on waiting security forces. Amateur video showed the demonstrators pelting police with stones and shouting: "Death to the dictator!"
The extent of injuries in the street battles was unclear. Some witnesses said dozens were hurt and gunfire was heard.
Scores of injured protesters who had sought medical treatment were arrested by security forces at hospitals in the capital, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran claimed.
It said doctors had been ordered to report protest-related injuries to the authorities, and that some seriously injured protesters had sought refuge at foreign embassies in a bid to evade arrest.
"The arrest of citizens seeking care for wounds suffered at the hands of security forces when they attempted to exercise rights guaranteed under their own constitution and international law is deplorable," said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesman for the campaign, denouncing the alleged arrests as "a sign of profound disrespect by the state for the well-being of its own people."
"The government of Iran should be ashamed of itself. Right now, in front of the whole world, it is showing its violent actions," he said.
An eery calm descended on Tehran early Sunday, where the streets were quiet and there were no signs that security forces were massing.
Saturday's clashes along one of Tehran's main avenues - as described by witnesses - had far fewer demonstrators than recent mass rallies for Mousavi. But they marked another blow to authorities who sought to intimidate protesters with harsh warnings and lines of black-clad police three deep in places.
The rallies also left questions about Mousavi's ability to hold together his protest movement.
Mousavi bewildered many followers by not directly replying to the ultimatum issued Friday by Khamenei, Iran's most powerful figure. His stern order to Mousavi and others: Call off demonstrations or risk being held responsible for "bloodshed, violence and rioting."
A police commander sharpened the message Saturday. Gen. Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghadam said more than a week of unrest and marches had become "exhausting, bothersome and intolerable." He threatened a more "serious confrontation" if protesters return.
Mousavi's silence was broken after the melee with another call to annul the election results. But there was no mention of the clashes - suggesting he wants to distance himself from the violence and possibly opening the door for more militant factions to break away.
Amateur video also showed clashes erupting in the southern city of Shiraz and witnesses reported street violence in Isfahan, south of Tehran.
Other footage posted in the hours after the crackdown showed blood pouring from a young woman's nose and mouth as frantic people tried to help her. Two separate videos of the incident, each shot from a different angle, were uploaded onto the social networking sites Facebook and YouTube. The YouTube video described the location of the incident as Amirabad, central Tehran, and said the woman had been fatally shot.
The Associated Press could not independently verify the content of the video, its location, or the date it was shot.
"I think the regime has taken an enormous risk in confronting this situation in the manner that they have," said Mehrdad Khonsari, a consultant to the London-based Center for Arab and Iranian Studies.
"Now they'll have to hold their ground and hope that people don't keep coming back," he added. "But history has taught us that people in these situations lose their initial sense of fear and become emboldened by brutality."
In Washington, President Barack Obama urged Iranian authorities to halt "all violent and unjust actions against its own people." He said the United States "stands by all who seek to exercise" the universal rights to assembly and free speech.
Obama has offered to open talks with Iran to ease a nearly 30-year diplomatic freeze, but the upheaval could complicate any attempts at outreach.
Full details of the street battles could not be obtained because of Iranian media restrictions. But witnesses described scenes that could sharply escalate the most serious internal conflict since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Police first fired tear gas and water cannons at the protesters, witnesses said. Then came a second wave. It included volunteer militiamen on motorcycles chasing down demonstrators.
Witnesses claimed some marchers were beaten with batons by security forces or metal pipes wielded by the militiamen known as Basijis, who are directed by the powerful Revolutionary Guard.
On the streets, witnesses said some protesters also shouted "Death to Khamenei!" - another sign of once unthinkable challenges to his authority.
Khamenei sided firmly with Ahmadinejad on Friday, saying the vote reflected popular will and ordering opposition leaders to end street protests.
Late Saturday, Ahmadinejad thanked Khamenei in a letter for his support, telling the supreme leader: "Without a doubt, you strongly raised the flag of dignity and awareness of the Iranian nation against the arrogant."
The government has blocked Web sites such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and several pro-Mousavi sites used by Iranians to tell the world about protests and violence. Text messaging has not been working in Iran since last week, and cell phone service in Tehran is frequently down.
But that won't stifle the opposition networks, said Sami Al Faraj, president of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies.
"They can resort to whispering ... they can do it the old-fashioned way," he said.
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