Tear gas greets opposition in Iran

TEHRAN, July 17 (UPI) -- Riot police used tear gas to disperse crowds who gathered at Tehran University following Friday prayers led by opposition cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Rafsanjani, a former president and leading opposition figure, led Friday prayers for the first time since violence gripped the Islamic republic following the disputed victory for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June 12 election.

The cleric described the atmosphere in Iran as "bitter," lashing out at the Guardian Council, the clerical body tasked with overseeing the elections, for neglecting its duties, state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.

Rafsanjani heads the Assembly of Experts, the only body with the authority to unseat the supreme leader of Iran. A supporter of defeated candidate and opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, Rafsanjani has said the turmoil in the wake of the elections shows sweeping dissatisfaction with the results.

Mousavi, the prime minister of Iran during its bitter war with Iraq in the 1980s, attended the Friday rally, marking a rare public appearance since the onset of post-election violence.

Gholamhossein Mohseni-Eje'i, the intelligence minister in Iran, had warned worshipers attending Friday prayers against any "undesirable" events as opposition leaders rallied at Tehran University.

Thousands of opposition supporters demonstrated outside Tehran University following the Rafsanjani sermon, and riot police were called in to disperse the crowds using tear gas.