No less than 150 merchants and protesters were detained during Wednesday's riots in Tehran, a website that is affiliated with Iran's security forces reported.

According to the website, the protesters were linked to the reformist "Green" movement, which organized the street protests in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential elections in the Islamic Republic.


The website said Wednesday's demonstrations were linked to the recent return to the country of Mahdi Hashemi, the son of influential ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Hashemi sought refuge in Britain after Iranian authorities accused him of fomenting unrest in the aftermath of Iran's disputed 2009 vote.

"Just a few days after the leader of the rioters (protesters) returned to the country, a group of hooligans attacked banks while employing the same method of the 2009 rioters," the website said.

"During the clashes, which were contained by the security forces, shops in Tehran's ancient bazaar were damaged," it reported.


During Wednesday's clashes near Tehran's main bazaar, police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators and merchants angered by the plunge in the value of the Iranian rial. The protesters yelled out slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying his economic policies had fuelled the economic crisis.


Protesters further criticized the Iranian government for aiding the Syrian regime at the expense of dealing with the economic situation in Iran.


Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Iranian leaders are to blame for the sinking Iranian economy and rising economic protests.

Clinton said Tehran is responsible for the country's economic problems and Iran's currency hitting a record low against the US dollar.



http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4288308,00.html