RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY: In an interview with U.S.-funded television network Alhurra, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the changes in Egypt are in the best interests of the region and urged demonstrators in other Arab countries to remain peaceful in their own drives for reform.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has hailed the "courage" and "aspirations" of antigovernment protesters in Iran, after thousands of them took to the streets of several Iranian cities.
In Tehran, opposition supporters rallying in solidarity with uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia clashed with security forces. One death was reported and dozens of people detained.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Congress, Clinton wished the opposition and "the brave people in the streets across cities in Iran the same opportunity that they saw their Egyptian counterparts seize in the last week."
She also pressed Tehran to follow Egypt's example and "open up" its political system.
"We support the universal human rights of the Iranian people," she said. "They deserve to have the same rights that they saw being played out in Egypt and that are part of their own birthright."
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, rejected the remarks on February 15.
"We think that the shared desire of all the nations in the region is for the oppressive countries not to meddle -- especially in the face of the violations and encroachment of the Zionist regime -- and to cut off dependence from the U.S. and the Zionist regimes and their supporters," Mehmanparast said.
Shots In The Air, Tear Gas
Eyewitnesses told RFE/RL that thousands of protesters on February 14 answered calls from the opposition to turn out for a banned rally in Tehran in support of the recent uprisings that ousted long-serving rulers in Tunisia and Egypt.
Protests were also reported in several other cities, including Shiraz and Isfahan.
Tehran demonstrators chanting slogans against Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were met with opposition by security forces, who fired into the air and used tear gas to disperse the crowd in the streets leading to Azadi Square -- the announced site of the main rally.
Opposition websites reported "dozens" of arrests at the rally -- the most significant since the December 2009 street protests that shook the Islamic republic and in which eight people were reported killed. >>> Antoine Blua, with contributions from Alhurra and agency reports | RFE/RL | Tuesday, February 15, 2011
RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY: White House Says Iranian Government 'Scared' By Egypt Upheaval: The White House says Iran's censoring of foreign news reports on the unrest in Egypt shows how the authorities in Tehran fear their own people.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the Iranian government was "scared of the will of its people." >>> Compiled from agency reports | Saturday, February 12, 2011
RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY: Website: Police Block Access To Iranian Opposition Leader's House: The website of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi said police today blocked access to his house and cut his telephone lines to prevent him from attending a rally later today. The report could not be independently confirmed. >>> Compiled from agency reports | February 14, 2011
