Crowd gathers in Tehran square, heavy police presence

Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:40am EDT

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Around 1,000 pro-reform Iranians gathered in a central Tehran square on Monday and there was a heavy police presence in the area, witnesses said.
They gathered in Haft-e Tir square, despite a warning by the elite Revolutionary Guards earlier on Monday that they would crack down on any election-related unrest.
"I was passing through Haft-e Tir square and I saw around 1,000 people there," one witness said.
Another witness confirmed that a crowd had gathered at the square. He said there was also a big police presence in the area but that the situation appeared calm. A third witness said hundreds of police were in the square.
The Guards threatened earlier on Monday to crack down on street protests after defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi called on supporters to stage more demonstrations over the disputed June 12 election, which he says was rigged in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The authorities reject the charge of vote fraud.