Mehdi Karroubi

The son of Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi on Friday accused hard-line pro-government militiamen and Revolutionary Guard members of trying to assassinate his father a night earlier. Hossein Karroubi alleged that commanders of the Revolutionary Guard gathered a raucous crowd of local Basiji militiamen in the city Qazvin, 90 miles from Tehran, and fired two shots at the car in which the elder Karroubi was riding, shattering the vehicle's windows. "If the car was not armored there would have been serious injuries to the people inside," Hossein Karroubi said in an interview with the American-funded Persian-language satellite channel Voice of America.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has pardoned an unspecified number of political activists imprisoned for their part in tumultuous protests over the country's disputed 2009 presidential election, in what was seen as a conciliatory gesture ahead of next year's national elections. The pardons did not cover top leaders of the 2009 demonstrations, including former presidential candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who remain under house arrest. State news agencies announced the pardons of 100 "security" prisoners late Saturday night.

A high-ranking conservative cleric called for the arrest of the nation's opposition leaders today while a counterpart demanded the release of political prisoners as the nation's political and religious establishment showed no signs of reconciliation following the disputed June 12 reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In addition, many lawmakers and clergy from Ahmadinejad's own conservative political camp fumed over his proposed Cabinet, including his decision to nominate three female ministers.

Thousands of Iranian government supporters gathered for a Friday prayer sermon rally meant to counter the resurgent opposition movement that staged a boisterous and scattered day of protests this week. But Iranian authorities Friday appeared to have backed off calls to execute Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the opposition leaders who called for the protests held Monday. The two reformist politicians, now under virtual house arrest, have called on supporters to head to the streets again Sunday.

The white-turbaned cleric is an unlikely enemy of the Iranian state. He was a confidant of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and served seven years as speaker of parliament. But at 72, in the wake of Iran's disputed presidential elections, Mehdi Karroubi has become the fiery heart of a protest movement that has shaken the republic's foundations. "I feel I am obliged to defend the rights of people," Karroubi said Monday during a rare interview with a Western news outlet at his sparse north Tehran office.

Iranian authorities launched a provocative attack on the opposition movement today by announcing a special investigation into prominent cleric Mehdi Karroubi over his accusations that security forces raped and tortured protesters demonstrating against the disputed June reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The move against Karroubi -- a revered figure from Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution -- is a direct attack on the heart of the opposition. It's an indication that the government is increasing pressure on top dissenters, even clerics, and it follows the death sentences handed down in recent days against at least two anti-government protesters.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has pardoned an unspecified number of political activists imprisoned for their part in tumultuous protests over the country's disputed 2009 presidential election, in what was seen as a conciliatory gesture ahead of next year's national elections. The pardons did not cover top leaders of the 2009 demonstrations, including former presidential candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who remain under house arrest. State news agencies announced the pardons of 100 "security" prisoners late Saturday night.

Iranian opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi on Saturday accused the government of wasting public resources in a massive show of force against the opposition this month, calling the country's hard-line leadership a "dictatorship and distortion of the Islamic Revolution." But in his first public comments since protests failed to disrupt the Feb. 11 anniversary celebration of the 1979 revolution, Mousavi offered few specifics on what the so-called green movement should do next. For now, Mousavi said he and fellow opposition figure Mehdi Karroubi would press for permission to hold their own rally and reach out to more Iranians.

Students in the western Iranian city of Ahvaz in recent days launched an impromptu protest in a campus auditorium. In Kashan on Monday, a group took over the campus cafeteria, singing anti-government songs. A couple of weeks ago in Tehran, others cheered wildly as someone threw a shoe at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's former culture minister. Then on Monday, students shouted down the ex-minister, Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi, once again. Largely absent from international media reports and discounted by Western policymakers more focused on Iran's nuclear program, the protest movement that erupted after Ahmadinejad's disputed June 12 reelection has continued to smolder, mostly on college campuses.

Nearly a month later, she can't erase images of the dying young man from her mind. All but two of his upper teeth had been knocked out. His nails had been pulled out. His head had been bashed in. His kidneys had stopped working. But what most disturbed her, she said, were the stitches around his anus -- a sign, the nurses told her, that he had been raped. Iranian reformist websites and activists in recent days had identified 19-year-old Mohammad K. as one of the protesters arrested during Iran's postelection unrest, locked up in the Kahrizak detention facility and severely beaten.

Iranian opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi on Saturday accused the government of wasting public resources in a massive show of force against the opposition this month, calling the country's hard-line leadership a "dictatorship and distortion of the Islamic Revolution." But in his first public comments since protests failed to disrupt the Feb. 11 anniversary celebration of the 1979 revolution, Mousavi offered few specifics on what the so-called green movement should do next. For now, Mousavi said he and fellow opposition figure Mehdi Karroubi would press for permission to hold their own rally and reach out to more Iranians.

The son of Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi on Friday accused hard-line pro-government militiamen and Revolutionary Guard members of trying to assassinate his father a night earlier. Hossein Karroubi alleged that commanders of the Revolutionary Guard gathered a raucous crowd of local Basiji militiamen in the city Qazvin, 90 miles from Tehran, and fired two shots at the car in which the elder Karroubi was riding, shattering the vehicle's windows. "If the car was not armored there would have been serious injuries to the people inside," Hossein Karroubi said in an interview with the American-funded Persian-language satellite channel Voice of America.

Students in the western Iranian city of Ahvaz in recent days launched an impromptu protest in a campus auditorium. In Kashan on Monday, a group took over the campus cafeteria, singing anti-government songs. A couple of weeks ago in Tehran, others cheered wildly as someone threw a shoe at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's former culture minister. Then on Monday, students shouted down the ex-minister, Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi, once again. Largely absent from international media reports and discounted by Western policymakers more focused on Iran's nuclear program, the protest movement that erupted after Ahmadinejad's disputed June 12 reelection has continued to smolder, mostly on college campuses.

Iranian authorities launched a provocative attack on the opposition movement today by announcing a special investigation into prominent cleric Mehdi Karroubi over his accusations that security forces raped and tortured protesters demonstrating against the disputed June reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The move against Karroubi -- a revered figure from Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution -- is a direct attack on the heart of the opposition. It's an indication that the government is increasing pressure on top dissenters, even clerics, and it follows the death sentences handed down in recent days against at least two anti-government protesters.

The white-turbaned cleric is an unlikely enemy of the Iranian state. He was a confidant of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and served seven years as speaker of parliament. But at 72, in the wake of Iran's disputed presidential elections, Mehdi Karroubi has become the fiery heart of a protest movement that has shaken the republic's foundations. "I feel I am obliged to defend the rights of people," Karroubi said Monday during a rare interview with a Western news outlet at his sparse north Tehran office.

A high-ranking conservative cleric called for the arrest of the nation's opposition leaders today while a counterpart demanded the release of political prisoners as the nation's political and religious establishment showed no signs of reconciliation following the disputed June 12 reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In addition, many lawmakers and clergy from Ahmadinejad's own conservative political camp fumed over his proposed Cabinet, including his decision to nominate three female ministers.

Thousands of Iranian government supporters gathered for a Friday prayer sermon rally meant to counter the resurgent opposition movement that staged a boisterous and scattered day of protests this week. But Iranian authorities Friday appeared to have backed off calls to execute Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the opposition leaders who called for the protests held Monday. The two reformist politicians, now under virtual house arrest, have called on supporters to head to the streets again Sunday.

A moderate held Iran's presidency for eight years before the 2005 election of conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and reformist ideas -- among them a belief in liberty, rule of law and government accountability -- remain lodged deep in the psyche of many Iranians. Now reformists are attempting a comeback, with two from their ranks competing against Ahmadinejad in the June 12 presidential election. One of those candidates is a former speaker of parliament, Mehdi Karroubi, who came in third in 2005.

Nearly a month later, she can't erase images of the dying young man from her mind. All but two of his upper teeth had been knocked out. His nails had been pulled out. His head had been bashed in. His kidneys had stopped working. But what most disturbed her, she said, were the stitches around his anus -- a sign, the nurses told her, that he had been raped. Iranian reformist websites and activists in recent days had identified 19-year-old Mohammad K. as one of the protesters arrested during Iran's postelection unrest, locked up in the Kahrizak detention facility and severely beaten.

A moderate held Iran's presidency for eight years before the 2005 election of conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and reformist ideas -- among them a belief in liberty, rule of law and government accountability -- remain lodged deep in the psyche of many Iranians. Now reformists are attempting a comeback, with two from their ranks competing against Ahmadinejad in the June 12 presidential election. One of those candidates is a former speaker of parliament, Mehdi Karroubi, who came in third in 2005.