In Iran, government forces continue to repress protests over this month’s disputed national elections. On Wednesday, Iranian police broke up a crowd of hundreds trying to gather near the Iranian parliament in Tehran. Witnesses described mass beatings and arrests, with many protesters sustaining serious injuries. The clashes came as Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reaffirmed his refusal to annul the election. Speaking in France, the recently freed Iranian American journalist Roxana Saberi criticized the crackdown.

Roxana Saberi: “I am very worried about their welfare, and I think they’re probably going through a much more difficult time than I was. And I hope that they can be released as soon as possible. I think that violence cannot resolve anything, and people simply want — many people of Iran simply want their demands to be heard in a peaceful way.”

Saberi was released from an Iranian prison last month following charges of espionage. The Obama administration, meanwhile, has withdrawn invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend upcoming Fourth of July celebrations at US embassies worldwide. The US says the invitations were withdrawn to protest the crackdown.