Iran opposition leader urges defiance

Losing face?
Asked about Ahmadinejad's statement, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the Iranian president is among those who are trying to blame the United States for the unrest. "I would add President Ahmadinejad to that list of people trying to make this about the United States," he said.

Despite being soundly backed by Khamenei, whose word is law in Iran, Ahmadinejad appeared to have lost some face both at home and among traditional allies.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani was among 185 of 290 lawmakers who stayed away from a victory celebration for Ahmadinejad earlier this week, several Tehran newspapers reported.

Iran's most senior dissident cleric, Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, warned the authorities that trying to snuff out dissent would prove futile.

If people are not allowed to voice their demands in peaceful gatherings, it "could destroy the foundation of any government" no matter how powerful, he wrote.

Doctor recounts Neda death
In London, Dr. Arash Hejazi, who said he tried to save Neda Agha Soltan as the young woman bled to death on the streets of Tehran, told the BBC she apparently was shot by a member of the Basij militia.

Hejazi, who is studying in England, said he was visiting friends in Iran when he went to see the protest and heard a gunshot.

"Neda was standing one meter away from me. I turned back and I saw blood gushing out of Neda's chest," he said. "We ran to her and lay her on the ground. I saw the bullet wound just below the neck."

Hejazi said he couldn't stop the bleeding. A video of her death has circulated around the world and made her a symbol of the opposition.

Protesters spotted an armed member of the Basij militia on a motorcycle, and stopped and disarmed him, the doctor said.

The man appeared to admit shooting Soltan, shouting "I didn't want to kill her," but the furious protesters confiscated his identity card and took photographs of him before letting him go, Hejazi said.

More on Iran  |  Ahmadinejad

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