TEHRAN, Iran -- Thousands of Iranian government supporters have staged rallies denouncing opposition students who burned photos of the supreme leader in protests this week.
Iranian state TV says the rallies took place in Tehran and other cities after Friday prayers.
Participants marched and chanted: "Down with the U.S." and "Down with Israel." They read out statements saying the opposition couldn't "achieve their miserable aims by insulting" Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The marches came after tens of thousands of opposition students protested at universities around Iran on Monday. Some burned pictures of Khamenei, breaking a taboo against insulting the leader. State TV aired footage of the picture burning, stoking hard-liner outrage.
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