Tehran, 12 July 1999 (RFE/RL) - Thousands of students
protested in Tehran today for the fifth straight day, chanting "cannon, tanks, and machine guns no longer have any effect." The students rallied today despite a warning by Iran's Supreme National Security Council that any unauthorized assembly would be deemed illegal and that violators would be prosecuted. Student demonstrations have also spread to Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz and Tabriz. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his first public reaction to the clashes at Tehran University last week -- has
condemned the violence as "unacceptable."