Senior officers in Iran's Revolutionary Guard have written a letter to their superior officer asking for guarantees that they will not be required to open fire on anti-government protesters, the
Daily Telegraph reported on Friday.
In the letter, addressed to Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the Guards' commander, the officers contend that using violence against their own people breaks the tenets of Shi'te Islamic law.
RELATED:Iran opposition leader 'ready to pay any price' for changeObama blasts Iran for violent crackdown on protesters‘This may be the first spark of revolution in Iran’"We promise our people that we will not shoot nor beat our brothers who are seeking to express legitimate protest against the policies and conduct of their leader," the letter states.
The
Telegraph quotes western
diplomats familiar with the letter as saying it has been passed on to
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iranian Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. No official Iranian response to the letter has
been made.
On Monday, Iran's beleaguered opposition brought tens of thousands of
its supporters into the streets, ostensibly to display solidarity with
Egypt's anti-government protest movement. It was also a chance for the
opposition to put on its first significant show of strength in more than
a year, and it set off clashes with police that killed two people and
injured dozens.
A day later, furious hard-line lawmakers pumped their fists in the air
in parliament and called for opposition leaders to be tried and
sentenced to death.
Iran’s regime said it called a rally in Tehran Friday to express “hatred” for the opposition movement, AFP reported.
Wednesday’s call for the mass rally came as clashes erupted between
regime backers and “apparent” supporters of the opposition at a funeral,
attended by thousands in Tehran of a student killed in anti-government
protests on Monday.
“The noble people of Tehran will take to Enghelab Square after Friday
prayers with their solid and informed presence,” the Islamic Propagation
Coordination Council, which organizes regime-backed programs, said
Wednesday.
It said those joining the rally will “scream out their hatred, wrath and
disgust for the savage crimes and evil movements of sedition leaders,”
AFP reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report