The opposition leader, who has not been seen in
public for about a week, also said his access to supporters has been completely
restricted.
Mr. Mousavi, who lost to incumbent President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June 12 vote, has alleged massive fraud in the
election. But Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the country's
powerful Guardian Council say the results will not be annulled.
For nearly a week after the election, Mr.
Mousavi's supporters staged massive demonstrations in Tehran and rallied in
other cities in Iran's biggest unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Some of
the gatherings led to clashes with security forces.
But pro-Mousavi gatherings have thinned in recent
days amid a government crackdown. The authorities have been maintaining a heavy
police presence in the streets to disperse crowds, especially since at least 10
people died in violence on Saturday.
There were no eyewitness reports of organized
demonstrations in Tehran on Thursday.
But witnesses told VOA's Persian News Network
that a larger-than-normal crowd of about 13,000 people flocked to Tehran's main
cemetery Thursday, in part to mourn the victims of Iran's post-election
violence. Residents in Tehran say on a normal day some 9,000 people visit the
Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, which holds graves for many victims of the Iran-Iraq
war.
Iran's crackdown on the protests has included
heavy restrictions on reporting and the arrest of university professors,
journalists and ordinary citizens. Mr. Mousavi said on his Web site that at
least 70 university professors were detained after meeting with him on
Wednesday.
The official death toll from post-election
violence is 17 people, but witnesses say it is much higher. State media reported
Thursday that eight members of the pro-government Basij militia also were
killed. The figures cannot be verified because Iran has severely restricted news
organizations' abilities to report from the country.
A senior cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali
Montazeri, warned Iran's leaders Thursday that continued suppression of dissent
could destabilize the regime. Montazeri was once the designated successor to
Iran's late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
