Iran's Revolutionary Guard Cracks Down on Protesters With Overwhelming Force

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, June 24, 2009— -- The Iranian government escalated its crackdown against opposition protests in Tehran today, eyewitnesses told ABC News by telephone. Uniformed and plainclothes Revolutionary Guards replaced regular police and army soldiers, and large numbers of them were bused into central Tehran.

The clash began outside the parliament building. Protesters came in greater numbers today, expecting to see opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. They were met with overwhelming force, according to eyewitnesses.

"They took beating to a new level," said one eyewitness, a woman. "Several men beating each protester at once and not stopping. I saw a lot of blood."

Another witness said, "They were using all sorts of weapons -- cables, wooden clubs. They were shooting into the air to disperse people. People were scared. It is a much, much more tense situation."

Security forces arrested anyone wearing black or green -- green, the color of Mousavi's opposition movement, and black, worn by many protesters to mourn the victims of the violence. Witnesses said women outnumbered men, as much as two to one, but they were not spared violence.

"A huge guard -- he looked like an ape -- confronted me the moment I exited the subway station near the parliament," a female protester told ABC News. "He pushed me back several meters to the ground. I asked him why he pushed me. He said it's because I'm wearing black."

Witnesses reported many people injured, some severely, but they did not see anyone killed. Earlier in the day, several updates on Twitter reported accounts of some deaths.

Mousavi, his top aide arrested today and his campaign offices raided, was never seen.

"It's changed a lot in the last few days," one protester told ABC. "We're doing this all on our own now."