Word: parliament
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...security apparatus spared no measure to ensure that the opposition's plans for a million-strong march would not materialize: cell-phone networks warned in advance of "technical difficulties" on inauguration day; subway stations neared Baharestan Square were closed; the élite Revolutionary Guards told hospitals near the parliament to expect wounded protesters in large numbers; and some 5,000 Basij and Guards waited for the crowds, according to state television. (See pictures of the Basij in action: "Terror in Plain Clothes...
...which numbered in the hundreds, possibly thousands, many openly wearing the rebel green in support of Ahmadinejad's closest rival in the election, Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Others, however, wore black to mourn another four years under Ahmadinejad. Many yelled, "Death to the dictators." Because the area around the pyramidal parliament building was so tightly cordoned off, many protesters moved to the nearby Grand Bazaar, where they chanted "Allahu Akbar...
...began his controversial second term, one that many political insiders do not expect him to finish. In a blatant slight, visible to all from the televised proceedings, few reformist lawmakers and no opposition leaders - including former Presidents Mohammad Khatami and Ayatullah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani - attended the open session of parliament. Several remaining reformists walked out when Ahmadinejad began his address, according to news reports. (Read a story about the prospects for a weakened Ahmadinejad...
Even if the hard-liners can hold their faction together, they must deal with an increasingly unruly Ahmadinejad, who briefly defied the Supreme Leader in trying to appoint an in-law as his Vice President. Now, within two weeks, he must appoint a new Cabinet that a divided parliament must approve. But perhaps most pressing is the impending showdown with the West. U.S. President Barack Obama has given the Iranian government a September deadline to come to the negotiating table on the nuclear issue...
Meanwhile, even though the government forces had the upper hand in the morning, the protests continued on Wednesday evening. Hours after the inaugural rites in parliament, more protests broke out at Vanak and Valiasr squares, although the crowds were quickly dispersed by security forces already stationed throughout central Tehran for much of the day. There are apparently plans for further demonstrations on Thursday evening, when the Basij force - which is established on conservative Shi'ite tenets - may be preoccupied with celebrating the birthday of the 12th "hidden" imam, a messianic figure of the Islamic sect. Says one would-be protester...