After the Green Movement

In 2009, protests erupted across Iran in opposition to the victory of the incumbent conservative president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, over his reformist challenger, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, in the presidential elections. Mousavi and other opposition candidates roundly denounced the election results, which were pronounced only two hours after polls closed on 12 June 2009 and claimed Ahmadinejad had captured well over 60 percent of the vote. Supporters of Mousavi took to the streets in Tehran shortly thereafter and protests gradually spread to other major cities over the following weeks. Those calling for Ahmadinejad's overthrow clothed themselves in green--Mousavi's campaign colour--thereby spawning the "Green Movement." The regime swiftly and violently attempted to put down any sign of popular unrest in the country by arresting, beating, and firing upon pro-opposition protesters. Despite such violence, mass demonstrations continued sporadically throughout 2010 and 2011.