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Mousavi abides by official line

DUBAI: Iran’s high-voltage street demonstrations backed by Mir Hosain Mousavi appear to have come to an end with the opposition leader declaring that he would now seek official sanction for rallies to highlight the disputed results of the recent presidential polls.

Mr. Mousavi became the symbol of a high-visibility student-led revolt which rejected the official election results. In the process, the protests he supported mutated into a de facto movement for greater civil liberties within the framework of the 1979 revolution. Agency reports said Mr. Mousavi’s website, his chief means of communication, was down on Saturday. Two other defeated presidential candidates, Mohsen Rezai and Mehdi Karroubi, have already announced they would play by the rule book prescribed by the authorities. Analysts say the heavy crackdown from the government has, for the moment, crushed street protests and pushed the demand for change within establishment channels, which include clerical institutions, Parliament and Iran’s vastly networked security apparatus.

Two prominent figures, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqir Qalibaf, are emerging as chief advocates for a review of the polls. Mr. Larijani has also questioned the State’s aggressive response, especially on the Tehran university campus.

Both Mr. Larijani and Mr. Qalibaf oppose officiall elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but are also close to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

With the streets firmly under control, key members of the establishment are now threatening to take harsher measures against those who, in their view, are the ringleaders of the protests.

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