BEIRUT — Iran’s opposition protesters were reeling Friday, a day after a ferocious security clampdown foiled their attempt to hold mass demonstrations, describing how government militiamen seemed to be everywhere on Tehran’s streets, swooping in to break up their gatherings.
Some in the movement are reassessing their strategy and considering a move away from street protests as they struggle to find an alternative way to harness anger at Iran’s government.
“I don’t think we always have to pour into the streets to demand our rights,” said Mohammad Taqi Karroubi, the son of a senior opposition leader, Mahdi Karroubi. Given the fierceness of the crackdown, “it’s natural that we don’t want people to pay a high price anymore.”
The opposition had called for mass protests to coincide with government-run celebrations Thursday marking the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution that created Iran’s clerical rule. But an array of riot police, undercover security agents and hard-line militiamen had fanned out across Tehran in one of the largest deployments since Iran’s political turmoil began after June’s disputed presidential election.
Several opposition supporters who participated in Thursday’s scattered protests expressed dismay, speaking of a temporary defeat and saying the movement needed to strengthen and deepen its organization.
“If we had a strong, charismatic leader, we wouldn’t have marched in the streets dazed and confused yesterday,” one female university student told The Associated Press from Tehran.
