No kisses from Iran’s leader, but words of support for embattled president

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s supreme leader bestowed his formal endorsement on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s second term as president on Monday but withheld a powerful symbolic gesture — the kisses and close embrace that portrayed their bond four years ago.

Iran’s rooftop cries: crackdown quiets streets but not simmering anger

EDITOR’S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

Analysis: Iran’s twin pillars of rule _ the turban and the helmet _ tighten grip

EDITOR’S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

Wearing head scarves, wielding rocks: Iranian women take center stage in country’s protests

EDITOR’S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

Hundreds of thousands rally to mourn protesters killed in anti-government clashes in Iran

TEHRAN, Iran — Hundreds of thousands of protesters dressed in black and green flooded the streets of Tehran on Thursday in a somber, candlelit show of defiance and mourning for those killed in clashes after Iran’s disputed presidential election. The massive march — the fourth this week — sent a powerful message that opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has the popular backing to sustain his unprecedented challenge to Iran’s ruling clerics.

Iran directly accuses US of meddling in deepening crisis over disputed presidential election

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran directly accused the United States of meddling in the deepening crisis over a disputed presidential election and broadened its media clampdown Wednesday to include blogs and news Web sites. But protesters took to the streets in growing defiance of the country’s Islamic rulers.

As thousands march, Iran accuses US of role in deepening unrest; authorities extend crackdown

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran directly accused the United States of meddling in the deepening crisis over a disputed presidential election and broadened its media clampdown Wednesday to include blogs and news Web sites. But protesters took to the streets in growing defiance of the country’s Islamic rulers.

Protester fatally shot after huge rally in Tehran to press vote fraud claims defies crackdown

TEHRAN, Iran — Gunfire from a pro-government militia killed one man and wounded several others Monday after hundreds of thousands of chanting opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marched in central Tehran to support their pro-reform leader in his first public appearance since disputed elections.

AP photographer sees militia fire at pro-reform crowds after massive march, 1 dead

TEHRAN, Iran — Gunmen have fired on opposition protesters at a massive march over alleged election fraud, killing at least one person.

Huge rally in Tehran to press election fraud claims in bold defiance of crackdown

TEHRAN, Iran — Hundreds of thousands of opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defied an Interior Ministry ban Monday and streamed into central Tehran to cheer their pro-reform leader in his first public appearance since elections that he alleges were marred by fraud. Gunfire from a compound used by pro-government militia killed one demonstrator.

Iran’s election system

A look at election rules in Iran:

WHO CAN RUN: Under the Iranian Constitution, candidates for president must be Muslim and between the ages of 25 to 75. There are differing interpretations about whether women are eligible for the presidency, but the ruling clerics have blocked all potential women candidates. Parliament permits women and members of religious minorities to run. People with criminal records or high-ranking officials of the toppled monarchy are banned from running for elected office.