Iran's influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will not lead Friday prayers this week to avoid possible unrest over the country's disputed presidential vote, newspapers reported today.
Challenging the authority of Iran's most powerful figure Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mr Rafsanjani declared the Islamic republic in crisis during his last Friday prayer sermon in July and demanded an end to arrests of moderates.
After Mr Rafsanjani's sermon on July 17th, clashes erupted between police and followers of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, who says the June vote was rigged to secure the re-election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"To avoid any possible clashes at Friday prayers, he will not lead the prayers this week," the office of Rafsanjani, also the head of the Assembly of Experts, said in a statement, the Etemaddaily reported.
The June 12th presidential vote plunged Iran into its biggest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution and exposed deepening divisions in its ruling elite.
Rights groups say hundreds of people, including senior pro-reform politicians, journalists, activists and lawyers, have been detained by the authorities since the election.
Iranian official media have said at least 26 people died in violence after the poll.
However, an ally of Mr Mousavi said 69 people were killed in unrest, the Sarmayehdaily said today. "The names of 69 people who were killed in post-election unrest . . . were submitted to parliament for investigation.
The report also included the names of about 220 detainees," said Alireza Hosseini Beheshti.
Mr Rafsanjani, an architect of the Islamic revolution, has warned the post-election power struggle would harm the establishment.
Reformist former president Mohammad Khatami and defeated candidates Mehdi Karoubi and Mr Mousavi have denounced Mr Ahmadinejad's new government as "illegitimate". Mr Ahmadinejad was officially sworn in on Wednesday.
Reuters