Supporters of the opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi fought running battles with riot police and hardliners on the streets of Tehran today as tens of thousands joined the first protests against President Ahmadinejad for two months.

The demonstrators defied warnings of a "decisive" crackdown from the elite Revolutionary Guard to mount the protest during the annual al-Quds rally, a mass display of solidarity with the Palestinians that is one of the set pieces of the Islamic regime.

Mr Mousavi himself was forced to abandon his own plans to join in the rally after an angry mob shouting "Death to the hypocrite Mousavi" attacked his car.

Another leading reformist, the former president Mohammad Khatami, was also roughed up on the streets of Tehran and had to leave after his robe was ripped and his turban fell to the ground.

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As Mr Ahmadinejad himself gave the keynote speech at Tehran University renewing comments about Israel and the "myth" of the Holocaust that have made him a pariah in the West, tens of thousands chanted "Death to the dictator" in nearby streets.

The demonstrators also shouted slogan in support of Mr Mousavi and wore green accessories – recognisable to all as the colour Mr Mousavi used in his campaign for the June 12 presidential election which they say Mr Ahmadinejad stole.

Hardline supporters of the regime, many bussed in from rural areas, mounted counter-demonstrations leading to repeated scuffles between the two sides.

Riot police, armed with batons, beat protesters who were pelting them with stones in the central Haft-e Tir Square. They also fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators who chanted: "Torture and rape are not effective any more."

The demonstrators were referring to opposition allegations of abuses against some of the more than 4,000 activists and reformist politicians detained during the post-election disturbances.

The Times has been given access to more than 500 pages of documentary evidence suggesting that the regime is using systematic killing and torture to try to break the opposition's resolve since the June 12 vote.

The al-Quds Day – literally Jerusalem Day – rally is the brainchild of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic regime, and is commemorated on the last Friday of Ramadan with a march through the centre of the capital followed by prayers at Tehran University.

There were also reports of clashes at al-Quds Day events in other major cities, as the unrest over the presidential election flared up again for the first time since July 19 in a sign that the regime still faces major challenge to its legitimacy.

Members of Basiji Islamic militia attacked and detained demonstrators in both Tabriz in the northwest and in Isfahan south of the capital, an opposition website said.

State television played down the scale of the unrest. "A few demonstrators protested against Ahmadinejad but they were drowned in the massive crowds of people expressing solidarity with the Palestinians," it said.

The wave of protests came despite a threat from the elite Revolutionary Guards Corps to crush any renewed attempt to contest the official election results giving Mr Ahmadinejad a landslide victory.

In his al-Quds Day address, the hardline president again described the mass extermination of Jews during the Second World War as a "myth" and said Israel was on its way to collapse.

"They (Western powers) launched the myth of the Holocaust. They lied, they put on a show and then they support the Jews," he said to chants of "Death to Israel" from his supporters among the crowd.

"The pretext for establishing the Zionist regime is a lie... a lie which relies on an unreliable claim, a mythical claim, and the occupation of Palestine has nothing to do with the Holocaust. This regime’s days are numbered and it is on its way to collapse. This regime is dying."

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