Telegraph.co.uk
The Iranian authorities made a desperate attempt to cut off the resurgent opposition movement at its roots on Monday, making a string of arrests close to its leadership. A former regime foreign minister, three close aides to Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated presidential candidate, and two aides to Mohammad Khatami, the former president, were all taken away by security forces, according to the opposition. The arrests followed Sunday's violence, the worst on the streets of Iran's major cities since the protests immediately after the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June. State media confirmed eight deaths, though one report put the number at 15. Both sides accused the other of dishonouring Sunday's holy Shia festival of Ashura, which commemorates the death of the Imam Hossein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson. Mehdi Karroubi, another reformist candidate defeated in the election, compared the regime to that of the Shah, overthrown in 1979. "What has really happened that spilled the blood of people on the day of Ashura and gets a group of savage individuals confronting people?" he said. He accused the regime of "dipping its hands in people's blood". But a group of conservative clerics based in the holy city of Qom issued a statement putting the blame on the protesters. "The association of Qom theologians asks officials to identify those behind yesterday's events and take appropriate measures to firmly encounter and punish them," a statement said. Dramatic video footage emailed around the world showed barricades on fire, a policeman with blood pouring down his face and crowds chanting slogans telling Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, that his time was up. They also showed what was said to be the shooting of Mr Moussavi's nephew, Seyed Ali Moussavi, 35. Reports of at least seven other deaths, initially denied by the authorities, were later confirmed.
On Monday police surrounded Ebnesina hospital, where Mr Moussavi had been taken. Opposition websites and his brother said his body had disappeared - possibly taken by security forces to prevent his funeral becoming another focus for protest. Moussavi supporters who gathered to mourn his death were dispersed by police firing tear gas. The arrests of seven leading activists on Monday may serve as an alternative focus for protest. They showed the authorities' conviction that senior reformists like Mr Moussavi and Mr Khatami have the power to control the protests even if they have been careful not to show themselves. But likewise they seemed to demonstrate that a weakened leadership did not have the courage to act decisively against former regime stalwarts. Mr Moussavi's arrested aides included Alireza Beheshti, who confirmed Ali Mousavi's death on Sunday. The arrested former foreign minister, Ebrahim Yazdi, led a banned opposition group that had previously been tolerated. Emad Baghi, a leading human rights activist, was also taken away. The danger the movement poses to the regime remains hard to tell, with foreign news agencies barred from reporting demonstrations. Video clips give an impression of the strength of feeling but reveal little of its depth. The regime reported 300 arrests on Sunday. Hopsitals said at least 60 people were injured. The government's crackdown brought renewed criticism from the West. "We strongly condemn the violent and unjust suppression of civilians in Iran seeking to exercise their universal rights," Mike Hammer, spokesman for the US National Security Council, said. President Barack Obama was criticised for being luke-warm in his backing for the demonstrations in June, and seems determined to be more forthright now. David Miliband, the foreign secretary, said the security forces' lack of restraint was "disturbing".
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