TENS of thousands of mourners turned the funeral of Iran’s leading dissident cleric into an anti-government protest yesterday.

Tens of thousands of mourners joined the funeral procession for Iran’s most senior dissident cleric today.

IRAN’S most senior dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who emerged as the spiritual father of its reform movement, died yesterday.

IN apparent defiance of Iran’s supreme leader, a powerful cleric has declared the country in crisis after a disputed election, as tens of thousands of protesters used Friday prayers to stage the biggest show of dissent for weeks.