Anti-government protesters demonstrated in Iran on Sunday in defiance of a warning by the authorities of a tough crackdown, extending for a fourth day one of the most audacious challenges to the clerical leadership since pro-reform unrest in 2009, according to Reuters. Police in the centre of Tehran fired water cannon to try to disperse demonstrators, according to pictures on social media. Video posted online also showed a clash between protesters and police in the city of Khoramdareh in Zanjan province in the country's northwest. Reuters was unable immediately to verify the authenticity of the footage. There were also reports of demonstrations in the cities of Sanandaj and Kermanshah in western Iran as well as Chabahar in the southeast and Ilam and Izeh in the southwest. Tens of thousands of people have protested across the country since Thursday against the Islamic Republic's unelected clerical elite and Iranian foreign policy in the region. They have also chanted slogans in support of political prisoners. Demonstrators initially vented their anger over economic hardships and alleged corruption but they took on a rare political dimension, with a growing number of people calling on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down.
