Mousavi calls day of mourning for Iran dead

Tens of thousands of Iranians marched in quiet defiance yesterday in protest against moderate Mirhossein Mousavi's election defeat, ahead of a day of mourning he has called for those killed in clashes.

In a fifth successive day of protests, Mr Mousavi supporters demonstrated in central Tehran against the official victory of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Friday's vote, which has caused the worst unrest since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

At least seven people were killed in street battles in Tehran on Monday, according to state media. Other protests have flared up in cities elsewhere in Iran.

"A number of our countrymen were wounded or martyred," Mr Mousavi said, calling today's day of mourning.

"I ask the people to express their solidarity with the families ... by coming together in mosques or taking part in peaceful demonstrations," Mr Mousavi said on his website.

Bloodshed, mass protests, arrests and a media crackdown have focused attention on the world's fifth-biggest oil exporter which is locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear programme.

After Mr Mousavi's web message, his supporters poured into Tehran's Haft-e Tir Square, ignoring an Interior Ministry warning, witnesses said. They were mostly dressed in black with wristbands and headbands in Mr Mousavi's green campaign colours.

Most of the protesters, some holding pictures of Mr Mousavi as well as green balloons, were silent and making victory signs.

The mass protests are a direct challenge to the authorities who have kept a tight grip on dissent since the US-backed shah was overthrown in 1979 after months of protest.

The political earthquake set off by Friday's vote prompted US President Barack Obama, who had urged the Iranian leadership to "unclench its fist", to say the upheaval showed "Iranian people are not convinced with the legitimacy of the election".

Major Western countries have questioned the result's fairness.

Discord within Iran's ruling system has never been so public. The Mousavi camp is backed by traditional establishment figures, such as former Presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, concerned about how Mr Ahmadinejad's truculent foreign policy and populist economics are shaping Iran's future.

State television has said the "main agents" behind the turmoil have been arrested along with guns and explosives.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will lead Friday prayers and is expected to repeat his appeal for calm.

Security forces arrested a pro-reform activist and an editor yesterday, while a provincial prosecutor said those causing unrest faced the death penalty. An official inquiry was launched into an attack on university students.