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Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri and Ayatollah Khomeini stare at each other

Seattle Times:

TEHRAN, Iran — Supporters of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his main rival in the disputed presidential election, Mir Hossein Mousavi, staged competing rallies Tuesday as the country’s most senior Islamic cleric threw his weight behind opposition charges that Ahmadinejad’s re-election was rigged.

“No one in their right mind can believe” the official results from Friday’s contest, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri said of the purported landslide victory by Ahmadinejad. Montazeri accused the regime of handling Mousavi’s charges of fraud and the massive protests staged by his supporters “in the worst way possible.”

“A government not respecting people’s vote has no religious or political legitimacy,” the country’s senior-most cleric declared on his official Web site. “I ask the police and army personals [personnel] not to ‘sell their religion,’ and beware that receiving orders will not excuse them before God.”

Montazeri’s pointed comments provided fresh evidence that a serious rift has opened at the top of Iran’s powerful religious hierarchy.

For the third time in as many days, Tehran was the scene of huge rallies. Ahmadinejad supporters gathered at Vali Asr Square, pre-empting plans by Mousavi’s supporters to rally there. State television provided full coverage of the pro-Ahmadinejad demonstration, including aerial images of a crowd that appeared to number in the thousands. Ahmadinejad was in Moscow, where he said nothing about Iran’s problems.

Tens of thousands of Mousavi supporters converged later in affluent northern Tehran, where the opposition candidate has strong support. A witness told The Associated Press that the rally stretched more than a mile along Vali Asr Avenue, from Vanak Square to the headquarters of Iranian state television.

As many as three more protesters were reported killed in clashes in the square — adding to the eight who were confirmed killed Monday. Foreign media were barred from covering the demonstrations, and the source of the report of the latest deaths was a witness known to McClatchy Newspapers, who asked that his name not be used for his security.

Tehran residents who spoke to a reporter on condition that their names not be published said there was widespread intimidation by thousands of members of the Basij, a hard-line Islamic volunteer militia loyal to the Islamic regime.

Iranian bloggers reported scattered violence after dark by Basij members. Reports of violence weren’t limited to the capital.

In a voice mail to U.S. government-funded Radio Farda, and posted on the Web site of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a woman who identified herself as Zeinab from the city of Shiraz said students gathered in front of university dormitories and protested peacefully.

“The Guard attacked the university and started beating the people. What are the people supposed to do? They are forced to react,” she said, referring to the elite Revolutionary Guard, a parallel military force controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

More than 170 opposition figures and dissidents have been rounded up since the election, according to unconfirmed reports. Shahabnews, a pro-Mousavi Web site, issued a list of 42 people it said were still in custody Tuesday. State television also reported that Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice president and adviser to opposition candidate Mehdi Karroubi, had been arrested.