Tehran - Mahdi Mosawi
Iranians have gathered in the Bam neighbourhood of Tehran to protest against the Iranian \"dictatorship\'\'
A large number of Iranians have gathered in the Bam neighbourhood of Tehran to protest against the Iranian \"dictatorship\" and to prepare for the launch of the \"Iranian Spring\" after Iranian New Year.
Invitations were sent via Facebook.
A number of other protests have been scheduled over the coming months in the lead up to 2012 Parliamentary election.
Iranian security forces closed roads leading to Bam, but crowds of young Iranians were able to bypass the blocks to gather at the city’s highest point.
The protesters shouted slogans that condemned the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and other key regime figures.
The demonstrators in Bam raising the slogan \"Where is my voice?\" demanding regime change.
Clashes between young Iranians and security forces took place on Thursday, with dozens of protesters arrested
Al-Arabiya Channel quoted the former leader of the student movement of reform, Ali Afshari,
\"Iran is entering a new phase of protests”, he said, referring an opposition meeting scheduled in Washington today to discuss the Arab Spring’s repercussions on Iran.
Afshari confirmed that experts from Libya, Syria and Egypt would attend, alongside key Iranian opposition figures.
Former members of the Islamic regime will also attend.
“The circumstances have changed now. The Gaddafi regime, which was a strong ally of Iran, has collapsed, and Iran’s next most important ally, Syria, is facing a popular revolution. This gives us a great opportunity to return to peaceful protests,\" Afshari said.
Iran witnessed demonstrations that resulted in the death, arrest and execution of thousands of people in 2009, following the disputed re-election of Ahmadinejad.