Iran's Mousavi says ready for "martyrdom" after challenging Supreme Leader

// added June 21, 2009 // 2 comments //
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http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/06/20/76486.html

Iran opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi said he was "ready for martyrdom," according to an ally, in leading protests that have shaken the Islamic Republic and brought warnings of bloodshed from Iran's Supreme Leader.

Mousavi also called on Saturday for a national strike if he is arrested, a witness said. As darkness fell, rooftop cries of Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) sounded out across northern Tehran for nearly an hour, an echo of tactics used in the 1979 Islamic revolution against the Shah.

Earlier Iran's security council warned Mousavi he would be held responsible for consequences of "illegal" rallies, the ISNA agency reported Saturday.

"Your national duty tells you to refrain from provoking illegal gatherings," council head Abbas Mohtaj, who is also deputy interior minister, said in a letter to Mousavi.

"Should you provoke and call for these illegal rallies you will be responsible for the consequences," he said.

Mohtaj also dismissed Mousavi's allegations on "the police vandalizing people's property."

In demanding an end to protests, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that otherwise there could be further bloodshed.

Siding with Ahmadinejad in his first public appearance since the vote, Khamenei ruled out major fraud in the poll.

"The people have chosen whom they wanted," Khamenei said in a prayer sermon on Friday, referring to Ahmadinejad.

"I see some people more suitable for serving the country than others but the people made their choice," he said to cheers from tens of thousands of faithful, who included Ahmadinejad.

Iran's capital has been rocked by daily demonstrations since the disputed re-election of President Ahmadinejad on June 12 drew claims from his leading rival, former premier Mousavi, of massive vote fraud.
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