The mass indictments mark the government's first major legal action aimed at quashing dissent since unrest erupted over six weeks ago.Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted judicial officials as saying that 1,000 people who had a central role in the protests would be brought to trial in Tehran alone over their "subversive actions," including assaulting security guards, setting fire to public property and other accusations.Although the protests first focused on Iran's mandatory headscarf, or hijab, they have since transformed into one of the greatest challenges to the ruling clerics since the chaotic years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.Iran issues new threat against protesters as Canadians rally in solidarity"Those who intend to confront and subvert the regime are dependent on foreigners and will be punished according to legal standards," said Iran's judiciary chief, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, indicating that some protesters would be charged with collaborating with foreign governments.Ejei claimed that prosecutors sought to differentiate between angry Iranians who merely sought to vent their grievances on the streets and those who wanted to take down the theocracy."