A Year Later, Iran Tense, Quiet

A year to the day after mass protests erupted over election fraud, Mir Hossein Mousavi vowed that Iran's opposition would "continue our peaceful methods"—but the so-called Green Revolution whose momentum threatened to topple the presidency of Mahmoud Ahamdinejad appeared muted. A mass protest planned for today was canceled amid fears of violence and the government's forceful crackdown appeared to be working.

Mousavi's statement said that while the opposition "may put off its presence in one arena," it will persevere through other ways—a reference to staying away from street gatherings and attempting to find alternative ways for a political struggle. Central Tehran streets were tense in the afternoon hours today, as people left offices at the end of working hours. Saturday is the first day of the workweek in Iran. The government, which had warned that any unauthorized gatherings today would be heavily confronted, said the extra deployments were part of regular maneuvers in Tehran.
(More Mir Hossein Mousavi stories.)