Timeline of the 2009 Iranian election protests in Tehran and across the country of Iran. This day was the Day of Ashura, which marks the death of Imam Hussain and is an important day on the Shiite calendar. Police fired upon protesters and used tear gas. State TV reported that 15 people died this day, yet official reports from the Iranian government put the death toll at 8, making this the deadliest day of the protests since June. Among those killed was Seyed Ali Mousavi, the nephew of Mir-Hossein Mousavi. At least 300 people were arrested. BBC called the protests "the worst violence since last June's contested
Iranian Reformists However, neither made it to the second round of the election (the final runoff): Moin came in fifth and Karroubi third in the first round. As a result, many supporters of the reform movement lost hope and did not participate in the election. The two leading reformist candidates in the 2009 presidential election were Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. Mousavi supporters disbelieved the election results and initiated a series of protests that lasted several days. After many days of protesting against the election results, the protests eventually turned violent as the Basij (loyal police to the Islamic Republic) started attacking