Iranian police said they had renewed a crackdown on...

Iranian police said they had renewed a crackdown on satellite dishes after the authorities blamed a spate of riots on television broadcasts by exiled opposition groups.
A police spokesman said hundreds of dishes had been removed from homes in the capital Tehran in the previous few days as part of a campaign against "social vice." Soccer fans had taken to the streets after three recent international games, often chanting slogans against Iran's Islamic leaders. Hundreds of people, mainly youths, were arrested.
Iran's Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani blamed the riots on opposition calls for demonstrations against the Islamic system broadcast via satellite television.
"Bankrupt elements abroad are trying to use the satellite network to launch a political challenge. This shows that we have failed to seriously confront cultural threats," he said.
Iran outlawed satellite dishes in the mid-1990s as part of efforts to curb the inroads of "decadent" Western culture. But the ban has largely been ignored since the 1997 election of President Mohammad Khatami, who has struggled to introduce cultural and political reforms. While Khatami and his allies have called for leniency in dealing with the rioters, hard-liners want to get tough.
The head of Iran's Revolutionary Court Ali Mobasheri has vowed to show "no mercy" to the instigators of the riots.
"The Revolutionary Court, according to the law and its responsibilities, would have no mercy on those who wanted to create insecurity with their hooliganism and improper behaviour," he was quoted as saying by Resalat newspaper.
"The main instigators were identified. Those who are causing insecurity will be considered as 'mohareb'," he said, using a term that can mean those who struggle against God, a charge which can carry the death penalty.