TIMES ONLINE: As protesters marched through the thoroughfares of Tehran, much of the city went on an unofficial strike today. Shops opened their shutters only halfway, in defiance of the vote.
Four days after Mr Ahmadinejad claimed re-election, the powerful Guardian Council offered a partial recount of disputed ballot boxes in response to complaints of massive electoral fraud.
The move by the clerics on the country's highest legislative body appeared to be the first concession to the opposition after hundreds of thousands joined anti-government protests in recent days.
But many saw it as a ploy by the mullahs to buy time before their formal endorsement of Mr Ahmadinejad's victory. Mr Mousavi had asked the council of clerics to annul the election and re-run it, but they rejected that demand as impossible.
At least seven civilians were killed when members of the Basiji militia, a force of young Islamic hardliners, started shooting when their post came under attack during yesterday's mass rally.
State radio said that the building came under attack at the end of what it called an "illegal" demonstration.
"Some thugs in an organised and coordinated action attacked and vandalised a number of public and government buildings," it reported. "A military post was attacked with the intention of looting its weapons. Unfortunately, seven of our citizens were killed and a number of them injured."
The death toll may actually have been higher. A nurse at western Tehran’s Rasoul Akram hospital said that 28 people with "bullet wounds" had been brought in last night, of whom eight had died.
Mr Ahmadinejad showed his contempt for the protests by visiting the Russian city of Yekaterinburg for a regional summit, where his re-election was effectively endorsed not just by his hosts but other nations attending, including China, India and Pakistan. Iranians Suspicious of Recount Offer as Tehran Goes on Unofficial Strike >>> Philippe Naughton, and Tony Halpin in Yekaterinburg | Tuesday, June 16, 2009
