TEHRAN, (Reuters) – Iranian security forces clashed with supporters of dead dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri in the northwestern city of Zanjan yesterday, a reformist website said.
The authorities have banned memorial gatherings for Montazeri in most parts of Iran, reformist websites said, days ahead of an emotive Shi’ite ritual that may draw more opposition protests.
The Jaras website said some people were injured and arrests made when the security services intervened to enforce the ban in Zanjan.
There was no immediate comment from the authorities.
On Wednesday, an Iranian official denied reports by opposition websites of clashes between mourners and police in the central city of Isfahan, one of Iran’s biggest cities.
There were also reports of scuffles in his nearby hometown, Najafabad.
Six months after a disputed election plunged the Islamic Republic into political turmoil, tension has mounted in the major oil producer after the death on Saturday of Montazeri, 87.
Yesterday Jaras quoted an eyewitness as saying mourners held a memorial service in the street because the mosque was locked.
It said a number of people were “severely wounded” and a “large number” were arrested among the crowd who chanted anti-government slogans such as “Oh Hossein, Mirhossein” in reference to opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, “Montazeri congratulations on your freedom”, and “Down with the dictator”.
Vast crowds attended the pro-opposition cleric’s funeral procession in the holy Shi’ite city of Qom on Monday, some chanting anti-government slogans.
Montazeri’s death occurred in the tense run-up to Ashura on Dec. 27, a politically important Shi’ite religious commemoration that offers the opposition another opportunity to show its strength. That day coincides with the seventh day of mourning for Montazeri, when more memorial services are usually held.
“According to an announcement by the Supreme National Security Council, with the exception of Qom and Najafabad, the holding of any meeting (memorial service) for Montazeri will be forbidden throughout the country,” the Kaleme website said.
