Iran forces 'raid' office of opposition leader Mousavi

BBC

Iranian security forces have raided the office of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, his website has reported.

Agents entered the premises late on Wednesday and took away computers and some of his belongings, it said.

The statement described the attack as a "new phase of restrictions". The Iranian government has not commented.

Mr Mousavi lost last year's presidential election to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a vote that he and other opposition figures say was rigged.

"With the attack by plainclothes security agents on the office of Mr Mousavi, it seems that another phase of restrictions has started," the statement on Kaleme.com said.

Correspondents say the move is part of growing pressure on opposition figures in the past two weeks.

Earlier this month, Kaleme reported that members of a militia linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards had attacked the home of another opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi, before the annual Quds Day rally in support of the Palestinians.

The Guards later condemned the attack and denied that its members were involved, blaming it on "rogue elements" not related to its paramilitary Basij force.

The two opposition leaders maintain that Mr Ahmadinejad's re-election last year was the result of massive vote rigging.

Thousands of opposition supporters were rounded up after the mass street protests following the June 2009 vote. Scores remain in prison.