Iran's Revolutionary Guard to pursue legal action against certain Web sites

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) - As protesters planned to demonstrate for a fifth day against last week's disputed presidential election, the country's Revolutionary Guard corps said Wednesday it will pursue legal action against Web sites that it said were inciting people to riot.

The Guard, a military unit that enforces the government's Islamic codes and morality, also blamed U.S. and Canadian companies, including American intelligence agencies, for financially and technically supporting the Web sites.

"We will very soon inform the public the details of these destructive Internet networks and we warn the people who want to use cyberspace to incite riot, threaten people and create rumors that legal action will be taken against them and the penalty they will pay is very heavy," the Guard said in a statement carried by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Even as the Guard made its announcement, thousands of Iranians planned to head to Haft-e-Tir Square in central Tehran Wednesday evening despite a stepped-up government crackdown.

The demonstrators, who back opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi, are demanding that the government throw out the results of last week's balloting that kept hardline incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in power.

Authorities in Tehran hauled dozens of protesters to jail Tuesday, banned international journalists from filming the rallies and blocked access to social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook.

"We are fighting with our lives and the world is just watching," said Ali, a Tehran University student who did not want his full name used for his safety. "They see how the government is trying to silence us, how they are beating us - but they don't come to our help. It's OK. We will succeed, even if we have to fight alone."

In the southwestern Iranian city of Shiraz, 28-year-old Najmeh has also taken to the streets in mass demonstrations every day since Saturday - much to the chagrin of her worried parents.

But Wednesday, the hospital nurse said, No more.

"The police are everywhere you look," she said. "They hurt and arrested so many people last night that one wants to go out."

U.S. President Barack Obama reiterated his "deep concerns" about the elections Tuesday but said: "My hope is that the Iranian people will take the right steps in order for them to be able to express their voices, express their aspirations."

The European Union has also expressed concern about the use of force against protesters, but the countries have not dismissed the results outright.

On Tuesday night, riot police hauled demonstrators off to jail in Shiraz - in some cases waiting outside hospital rooms while they were treated for injuries first.

Pro-Ahmadinejad supporters, armed with bats and batons, rode through city streets in Tehran in a show of force.

The government restricted access to news Web sites, such as CNN. It blocked social networking sites to prevent citizens from posting pictures of the protests.

And Tehran told reporters working for international news outlets, including CNN, they could not shoot footage of the protests. The government said it could not guarantee their safety.

"I do believe them because the militia, they don't care who you are. If they see a camera, you will be a target," said a CNN producer who is not being identified for his safety.

He was referring to the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force that takes its orders from the Revolutionary Guard, and is suspected of being behind most of the violent acts.

The decision to ban international reporters from filming rallies was an apparent reaction to video showing violence at recent demonstrations in support of Moussavi.

The government has criticized some of that coverage and the images, describing them as biased.

Still, residents found ingenious ways to get their message to the outside world using proxy servers.

Their amateur videos and photographs began appearing on video-sharing sites, such as YouTube and CNN's iReport.

In most cases, the content was impossible to verify. Some were posted anonymously or through third parties. Others provided little information on where they were taken.

But the images, jarring and powerful, often said plenty.

A video from Monday shot in Tehran showed a man firing repeatedly from a building rooftop, sending protesters scrambling for cover. Another showed demonstrators rushing through the crowd carrying an unconscious man, his shirt soaked red. A still photograph showed five policemen stomping on a man while a woman in a black chador - a full-length loose robe that women in Iran wear like a cloak - screamed for them to stop.

And still the demonstrators gather on the streets by the tens of thousands, sometimes wearing green - the venerated color of Islam that has been adopted by Moussavi supporters - and sometimes black, in mourning.

They march, their faces covered with handkerchiefs, their pumped fists punching the air and their chants of "Down with the Dictator" echoing against buildings.

"I have never seen anything like what we saw yesterday," said a man who sent in footage to I-Report of a rally in Azadi, or Freedom, Square in central Tehran on Monday. "(The chants) were so loud, the building we were in was trembling."

Counter-demonstrations by Ahmadinejad backers have also drawn thousands, reflecting a deep fissure in the country. The protests have claimed at least seven lives.

Iran's all-powerful leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appealed to the citizenry to stand behind the Islamic republic. He will deliver a Friday sermon that will be closely watched to see how the government plans on resolving the stalemate.

On Tuesday, Khamenei - who has given his blessing to the election result - asked the country's election authority, the Guardian Council, to recount some of the votes.

But Moussavi is asking for fresh elections, saying a recount will provide another opportunity for the government to manipulate the results.

Eighty-five percent of the country's 46 million eligible voters went to the polls Friday - an unprecedented voter turnout.

The government declared Ahmadinejad the winner - with 62.63 percent of the vote. Moussavi received 33.75 percent, surprising many experts who expected him to win.

"All this mess is because they lied to us," said Farzaneh, a 22-year-old college student in Shiraz. "Okay, so maybe Ahmadinejad won, but we all know the numbers they gave us are incorrect. Why don't they just show us the correct numbers and stop this killing? That's all we ask. We want free elections."

- CNN's Samson Desta and Reza Sayah in Tehran, and Mitra Mobasherat and Saeed Ahmed in Atlanta contributed to this report.