Iran Unrest Continues; Reformist Clerics Attacked

Unrest continued in Iran on Tuesday and Wednesday as dissidents combined mourning ceremonies for Grand Ayatollah Hosain Ali Montazeri with anti-regime demonstrations. In the important city of Isfahan, security forces attacked a throng of mourners and fifty were arrested. The ceremony was held at Sayyid Mosque, with reformist cleric Jalal al-Din Taheri presiding.

The regime is clearly especially worried about liberalizing clergymen who might assume the mantle of Montazeri, a regime critic with impressive scholarly credentials.

This concern is illustrated by the home invasion in the holy city of Qom mounted by hard line militiamen against reformist cleric Ayatollah Yusuf Sanei, in the course of which some of his aides were beaten. The hard liners want to expel Sanei and other reformers from Qom, branding them 'hypocrites'.

There were also clashes between mourners and authorities Tuesday eveningin Najafabad

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone


End/ (Not Continued)