MAKING IT ABOUT HIMSELF COULD BE WHAT KILLS THE REPUBLIC:

Protesters defy Ayatolla, police fire tear gas (The National, June 20. 2009)

Witnesses said police fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands of protesters who rallied in Tehran today in open defiance of Iran’s clerical government, sharply escalating the most serious internal conflict since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Witnesses described fierce clashes near Revolution Square in central Tehran after about 3,000 protesters chanted “Death to the dictator” and “Death to dictatorship”.

Police responded with tear gas and water cannons, the witnesses said.