Iran: Government’s Turn to Demonstrate; Cleric Threatens Dissenters

The Iranian government took a turn at sending its supporters to the streets after opposition forces demonstrated for days on end. Reports from Tehran indicated that opposition leaders including Mir Hossein Mousavi have fled the capital, fearing for their lives. An opposition website reported that Mousavi and another leader, Mehdi Karroubi, were taken into protective custody by the Revolutionary Guard and taken to a town on the Caspian sea. Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, a leading cleric who serves on the Assembly of Experts – the body that selects the supreme ruler – warned opposition leaders that, “If you do not [repent and return to the path of the leader], then the people and the regime will confront you as mohareb [enemies of God].” Those convicted as mohareb face the death penalty.