By BRIAN MURPHY Associated Press Writer
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates November 11, 2009 (AP)
The Associated Press
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Just minutes before anti-riot police charged opposition marchers in Tehran last week, a new chant bubbled up from the crowd: "Death to Nobody."
This photo, taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP...
This photo, taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran shows Iranian anti-riot police officers directing people during an anti-government protest, on the sidelines of state-sanctioned rallies to mark the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009. Iranian security forces beat anti-government protesters with batons and fired tear gas Wednesday on the sidelines of state-sanctioned rallies to mark the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover, witnesses and state media reported. The counter-demonstrations were the opposition's first major show of force on the streets of Tehran since mid-September that coincided with state-sponsored protests against Israel.
(AP Photo)
It was more than just a play on the "Death to America" slogans that are staples of Iran's political life. The cries give a sense of how much the protest movement has evolved since the raw outrage of last summer.
The demonstrations have moved beyond narrow attacks on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his disputed re-election in June. They are now drifting toward a blanket challenge of the Islamic leadership's right to rule.
"It's gone from anti-Ahmadinejad to more of anti-regime in general," said Mustafa Alani, a regional analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai. "That's an important shift."
And here lies the protesters' strength, but also their potential unraveling, some experts say.
An overall challenge to the powers of non-elected clerics — headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — could provide the big picture goal to sustain the demonstrations for years. But it also carries risks. Top among them: alienating the opposition leadership, who remain still loyal to the Islamic system, and bringing even harsher crackdowns by authorities who can justify use of violence to protect the status quo.
The two senior figures in the opposition, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, have repeatedly said they do not seek to overthrow the ruling clerics. Since July, authorities have put on trial more than 100 pro-reform figures accused of being part of a plot to topple this religious hierarchy.
Mousavi and Karroubi's reluctance could leave room for more militant opposition leaders to emerge in the future.
The protests last week coincided with state-run rallies marking the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The timing, like the shouts of "Death to Nobody," were a symbolic challenge to one of the ideological pillars of the regime — the anti-U.S. fervor of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the pro-American shah.
