Montazeri funeral protest

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

As the crowds chanted “death to the dictator”, security forces clamped down in the holy city of Qom where massive crowds streamed in for the funeral rites.

One opposition website reported clashes outside the home of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who died yesterday aged 87.

Montazeri’s death pushed Iranian authorities into a difficult spot. They were obliged to pay respects to one of the patriarchs of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the one-time heir apparent to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, but officials also worried that Montazeri’s memorials could become new rallying points for opposition protests.

The ayatollah broke with Iran’s clerical leadership, denouncing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Marchers held aloft portraits of Montazeri and green banners and wrist bands in a powerful show of support for the Green Movement of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.