Hundreds of thousands of opposition protesters openly challenged the authority of Iran‘s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, today by mourning the death of a dissident cleric who had questioned Khamenei’s fitness to rule.
The mass turnout in Qom for the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, who died on Sunday, aged 87, came just a day after Khamenei had dismissed him as a figure who had failed “a big test” and ordered a security clampdown to deter mourners from paying their respects.
Instead, the event turned into the opposition Green Movement’s biggest show of strength in months. The sheer numbers – including many wearing the opposition’s signature colour of green – seemed to confirm the Islamic regime’s fears that Montazeri’s death could provide a fresh spark for the simmering discontent over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad‘s hotly disputed re-election last June.<... >>>
