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TEHRAN (Reuters) – Hundreds of students in favor of the government and opposition rivals held demonstrations in Tehran on Tuesday, and the bazaar in the capital to protest briefly closed an “insult” to the founder of the Islamic Republic.

incidents, reported by official media and a website reformist, was another sign of growing tension in Iran, six months after a controversial election that brought the country into its worst internal crisis since the revolution 1979 Islamic.

The authorities called a national demonstration on Friday to condemn the destruction of an image of late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during opposition protests last week, said a government in a statement.

Such an event might turn violent, as the opposition has previously used the events promoted by the state to take the streets.

“Death to America” and “Death to the hypocrites,” chanted the supporters of the Government at Azad University in Tehran, reported the official news agency IRNA. The protesters identified as “hypocrites” high opposition figures.

Elsewhere in the city, pro-reform studefcents chanting “Death to the dictator” in al-Zahra women”s college , according to the website of opposition leader Kalem Mirhossein Mousavi, who said that the June voting were rigged to favor President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Government officials accused Mousavi of supporters desecrating the memory of Khomeini during the demonstrations on 7 December, when police armed with batons and tear gas clashed with students.

The opposition has denied involvement in the incident, suggesting that Authorities planned to use the incident as a pretext for a renewed post-election crackdown on dissidents.

hardline clerics and others loyal to the Government have held several meetings in recent days to express their fury at the “insult” to Khomeini, who led the overthrow of the US-backed shah, and continues to be revered 20 years after his death.

The bazaars of Tehran and the city Tabriz northern closed for two hours on Tuesday to protest the incident of the image of Khomeini, state television reported.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant Spanish)