TEHRAN — Huge swaths of the Iranian capital erupted in fiery riots that stretched into the early hours today as hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory in his quest for a second term amid allegations of widespread fraud and reports that his main challenger had been placed under house arrest.
At the moment that the president was promising a "bright and glorious future" for Iran in a late-night televised address, supporters of reformist rival Mir-Hossein Mousavi were battling with police and militiamen in riot gear throughout Tehran in the most serious clashes in the capital since a student uprising 10 years ago.
In the streets and squares where young people had danced and waved green banners in support of Mousavi just days ago, baton-wielding officers chased and beat mobs of hundreds of demonstrators chanting, "Down with dictatorship!" and "Give me my vote back!"
Tear gas, searing smoke and the smell of burning trash bins filled the night air as protesters ripped up Iranian flags, which had become the symbol of the Ahmadinejad campaign.
Video showing unrest in the city of Shiraz emerged early today, but reports of other outbreaks could not be confirmed as authorities tried to limit the scale of the demonstrations by curtailing electronic communications. Websites such as Facebook and YouTube, available during the campaign, were suddenly filtered. For hours Saturday, the Tehran cellphone network was shut down.
Official results released by the Interior Ministry, which is under the control of the president, showed Ahmadinejad with more than 63% of the vote -- a surprise performance given turnout figures of 80% and hours-long lines of city dwellers mostly opposed to him. Mousavi received 35% of the vote, according to the results.
The Obama administration, which has sought to reach out to the Islamic Republic, expressed concern about the results, as many here predicted a new wave of repression to crush the outpouring of civic participation that swelled during the election season.
"Like the rest of the world, we were impressed by the vigorous debate and enthusiasm that this election generated, particularly among young Iranians," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement Saturday. "We continue to monitor the entire situation closely, including reports of irregularities."
Mousavi and fellow reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi strongly disputed the results in public statements. Karroubi, a former speaker of parliament, called the results "engineered" and "ridiculous."
