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TORONTO STAR  REPORTER
Iran’s ruling theocracy faces its biggest challenge since coming to power three decades ago, as massive protests against alleged vote-rigging spark escalating violence.

The stakes for more confrontations were raised yesterday when pro-government militias opened fire on some of the hundreds of thousands who clogged the streets of the capital shouting, “Death to the dictator.”

Iranian state radio said seven people were killed today in clashes near the site of a rally in Tehran.

Their protest against the election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marks the greatest threat to the country’s Shiite religious establishment since the Islamic revolution in 1979. Ahmadinejad, arriving in Russia today to attend a regional security summit, was welcomed as the new Iranian president.

Defying a government ban on protests, demonstrators jammed Azadi (Freedom) Square in Tehran to hear reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi vow to continue fighting until the election results are cancelled.

“I am ready to pay any price,” he said through loudspeakers. “People feel their wisdom has been insulted.”

Mousavi called on supporters to “stop this lie and stand up to fraud and this astonishing charade.”

The crowd roared back: “Long live Mousavi.”

The protests have reportedly spread to cities outside Tehran, including some traditionally seen as more conservative than the capital.

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