The Friday prayer always attended by hardliners and as it is not possible to gather for protesters without being beaten and arrested they decided to participate in the Friday prayer. There is no way the pain dress Basiji milishia can attach people when they are attending the prayer.

This week the Imam is Hashemi Rafsanjani which is the major political figure who has been in power since the revolution. He has been the president for tow terms and he is the person who brought Ayatollah Khamenei into the political arena back in 80s. Ahmadinejad attacked him repeatedly during the pre-election debates and accused him of corruption and family run political and economical mafia.

Protesters were waiting for him to reposnd but he was silent since the election on June 12 but today he opened up and defended the protester. He is the highest authority in the present government who has backed up the protests against the Russian backed coup deta of June 12.

He is the head of Majama Tashkhise Maslahat which can endorse or reject the regulations approved by the parliament. He also is the head of Guardian council who can change the supreme leader if needed.

By calculation of the area the protester had occupied today and based on assumption of 3 persons per square meter the number of people attending the event today is estimated between 1.5 to 2.5 millions.