TEHRAN — Iran's capital erupted in violence and civil disobedience for a second day Sunday, as protesters angered by what they consider rampant vote fraud in Friday's presidential election hurled rocks, set fire to storefronts and shouted anti-government slogans.
As security forces fought off the demonstrators, an assertive President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended his government- certified victory as the legitimate will of the people and derided the demonstrators as unimportant.
Ahmadinejad, speaking at a news conference, likened his detractors to angry soccer fans who commit a traffic violation leaving the stadium after a match. "He's going to be fined, but he's still a citizen of this country," he said.
Afterward, Ahmadinejad appeared before a massive rally in Tehran's Vali Asr square, where thousands of supporters waved red, white and green Iranian flags and banners with religious slogans.
Ahmadinejad suggested that he would not change course on major foreign and domestic issues that have made him a lightning rod for criticism from the West. He repeated his willingness to "debate" President Obama publicly at the United Nations and downplayed international concerns about Iran's nuclear research program, which Western nations believe is aimed at developing nuclear weapons and Iran says is for civilian purposes.
Ahmadinejad also rejected the possibility of an American or Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"Who dares to do such a thing today?" he said in response to a question from a reporter. "Who dares to even think about it? No power can even threaten Iran."
State news media quoted police officials as saying that they had detained nearly a dozen people who allegedly instigated protests and at least 160 opposition demonstrators.
Sunday's unrest drew to a close earlier than the previous day but appeared to have spread to some southern parts of the capital and drawn in more people.
At 9 p.m., supporters of moderate candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi went on rooftops across the city and shouted into the darkness, "God is Great! Death to the dictator!" -- a dramatic gesture harking back to the days before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Fierce clashes erupted between supporters of Mousavi and security forces at the square near the Interior Ministry, where the election results had been certified, and around the main campus of Tehran University, a frequent scene of unrest in Iran's political and cultural battles. Plainclothes security officials rattling truncheons against the university guard railing stormed the Mousavi supporters and dispersed the crowds.
