But Mousavi's new organization could gain political muscle with the help of Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a powerful cleric who is a pillar of Mousavi's support.
Rafsanjani said he would endorse Mousavi's plan for a "united moderation front," according to Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani, the cleric's brother. "He had even formulated the charter to a certain extent, but this front did not materialize for certain reasons," he told ILNA.
At least one prominent conservative, Habibollah Asgaroladi, head of the decades-old Islamic Coalition Party, endorsed the creation of a Mousavi-led political group. "Establishing a party to voice one's ideas and political perceptions is a wise move," he said, according to the website of the state-owned Press TV channel.
Still, most Iranian conservatives close to the elite and increasingly powerful Revolutionary Guard have demanded that Mousavi and his supporters be barred from further participation in Iranian electoral politics.
Iran tightly regulates its political sphere. Candidates for higher public office must be vetted by the conservative Guardian Council, a 12-member panel of clerics and jurists.
But Hamid-Reza Fouladgar, a member of a parliament committee on political parties, said that "activity within the framework of a political front does not require official permission," according to ILNA.
Though authorities have clamped down on journalists and news outlets reporting on the still-simmering anger over Ahmadinejad's reelection, Iranians on both sides of the dispute are gearing up for a potential conflict between supporters of Mousavi and Ahmadinejad at Friday prayers in Tehran, where Rafsanjani is scheduled to deliver the nation's keynote religious sermon for the first time since the election.
News reports on reformist websites have said Mousavi and former President Mohammad Khatami, another prominent reformer, would attend the sermon, bringing their legions of supporters with them.
Ahmadinejad is heading to the eastern city of Mashhad on Thursday, shunning Friday prayers this week. But pro-Ahmadinejad media reported that worshipers would protest Rafsanjani's presence, setting the stage for a potential confrontation, according to the news website Shafaf.ir.
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daragahi@latimes.com
