Dozens Arrested at New Tehran Protest

Dozens of Iranians were arrested today when riot police violently dispersed a protest in Tehran, Reuters reports. Hundreds chanted slogans like “Ahmadinejad—resign, resign,” and “Death to dictators,” witnesses said, before police, some in plainclothes, descended on the demonstration, beating and detaining the protesters. Some witnesses put the number of protesters in the thousands.

Activist leaders, meanwhile, are attempting to orchestrate a power outage, telling supporters to turn off all their electronics at 8:55pm local time, then turn them all on at once five minutes later. They hope the spike will plunge Tehran into darkness, allowing protesters to take to the street. (More Tehran stories.)