Iran's IRGC commander urges to arrest unrest leaders

TEHRAN, Aug. 9 -- An Iranian senior Islamic Revolution

Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Sunday called for the arrest and trial of

opposition leaders of Iran's post-election unrest, the official IRNA news agency

reported.

Yadollah Javani, the chief of IRGC's political office, announced that "if

(the defeated candidates) Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and (the former

President) Mohammad Khatami ...are the main cause of the velvet coup in Iran,"

the judiciary and intelligence officials should "arrest, try and punish them."

"What happened (after the presidential election) was the velvetcoup (in

Iran) with the immediate aim of seizing the political power and with the

long-term aim of changing the religious establishment into secular system,"

Javani was quoted as saying.

However, the project, which Mousavi was the major leader to carry out, was

defeated, Javani added.

Earlier on Sunday, the member of National Security Commission in the

parliament Mohammad Karami-Rada said that a powerful bloc of Iran's lawmakers is

seeking to take Iran's opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi to court as the

cause behind the country's recent unrest, according to a satellite Press TV

report.

Protests gripped Tehran and other Iranian cities after the June12

presidential election, amid claims that the vote had been rigged in favor of

incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iran's state media said about 30 people had been killed in relevant

clashes, including some in custody.

More than 1,000 protestors and dozens of reformist activists were

reportedly arrested in the wake of the disputed election. Theauthorities said

most of them have been released.