Timeline of the 2009 Iranian election protests the repression and violence which occurred during the election protests. Violent clashes were reported between Iranian police and protesters after a massive protest was held throughout Iran during the Chaharshanbe Suri, over 50 protesters were reported to have been detained. For months prior, large protests had been planned to take place on June 12, the one-year anniversary of the disputed 2009 Iranian Presidential Election. Two days before the planned demonstrations, former presidential candidates and de facto leaders of the Green Movement, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi canceled the protests scheduled for Saturday "in order to protect people's lives and property".
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