The Latest from Iran (31 March): Mousavi and A Funeral

2100 GMT: A Poster for Sizdeh Bedar. Anticipating the festival of Sizdeh Bedar, when Iranians leave the house and enjoy the outdoors, activists have put out the message on this poster, "Sizdeh Bedar 90 --- Khamenei Must Go":

2030 GMT: Economy Management Watch. Mohammad Taghi Bakhtyari of Parliament's Development Commission has said that breaches by the Government of the 2008/9 budget prove that the Majlis has insufficient control. Bakhtyari claimed that the Government has not paid billions in debts.

Another MP, Ezzatollah Yousefian, has said a fourth of Iran's liquidity is in the hands of "special people".

1625 GMT: Mousavi and a Funeral. Several Mousavi family members have reportedly been released from custody after being arrested at the funeral of Mir Hossein Mousavi's father.

1620 GMT: Claim of Day. Digarban, a new website challenging the regime, puts out the words of Ayatollah Abdolnabi Namazi, the Supreme Leader's representative in Kashan, that only Ayatollah Khamenei is "apt to lead humanity".

1610 GMT: Mousavi and a Funeral. Extracts from the account of Javid Ghorban Oghli, a member of Mir Hossein Mousavi's electoral campaign and Iran's former Ambassador to Algeria, of the funeral and burial ceremony for Mir Hossein Mousavi's father, Mir Esmail Mousavi:

The security agents who were desperate after hearing the threats and persistence by the family, eventually brought Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard to Mir Esmail Mousavi's residence a few hours later. After 50 days of separation from his ailing father, they only allowed Mr. Mousavi to see him for a few minutes....Yes. However, this visit was also in the presence of security forces and only lasted a few minutes, after which they immediately took Mr. Mousavi and his wife away....Father and son were oppressed to such a degree that they did not even allow Mousavi to be present at his father's burial ceremony and to participate in carrying his casket.

The security forces were to blame for the altercations [at the funeral ceremony]. From early morning, 15 Khordad Street and all the streets around it were filled with police and special security forces. The entire ceremony was marred with an intense security atmosphere....In accordance with Islamic tradition, the casket was being carried by family members for a short distance when security forces suddenly attacked the individuals involved in the procession, robbed the body of the deceased and put it inside an ambulance. The family naturally protested the violent and unacceptable behavior by the security agents and those present began chanting "Ya Hossein... Mir Hossein". The oppressors even went as far as accosting, insulting and eventually arresting someone like Ayatollah Nouralhayan, a clergyman who has been close to the Supreme Leader for years. A number of Mir Hossein Mousavi's close relatives were beaten and also arrested. Despite the family's desire to put the late Mir Esmail Mousavi to rest in peace, the despicable and outrageous behavior by the security forces led to tension and unrest at the ceremony.

Unfortunately they behaved in the same manner at Beheshte Zahra Cemetery....When [former reformist MP] Dr. Shokourirad came up to express his condolences and begin the prayer ceremony, security agents brutally attacked him and then arrested him. They also arrested the daughter of Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili, one of the Grand Ayatollahs, who was later released after a few hours. They also released Dr. Shokourirad a few hours later at a corner of Beheshte Zahra Cemetery. The ceremony ended at 11:00am and the security forces forced all those present to leave the premises immediately. They themselves remained present, however, in order to prevent the general public from coming near the burial grounds.

1540 GMT: Brief footage of the crowd chanting at the funeral of Mir Hossein Mousavi's father:

1500 GMT: Mousavi and A Funeral. Kalemeh confirms that Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard were allowed to see the body of Mousavi's father last night, but only under heavy guard by security forces.

Mousavi and Rahnavard have been under strict house arrest or detention since mid-February.

Meanwhile, among those in the funeral procession arrested this morning by security forces (see 0845 GMT) were former MP Ali Shakouri Rad, Mousavi's brother-in-law Mir Hassan Habibi Mousavi, whose son Ali was killed during the Ashura protest in December 2009, and Hojatoleslam Norollahian, a clerical activist in the 2009 Mousavi Presidential campaign.

Grand Ayatollah Bayat Zanjani, in a message of condolence to Mousavi, has condemned the illegal restriction on Mousavi and expressed his wishes that the circumstances would end soon, so that people can once again benefit from Mousavi's thoughts and abilities.

1355 GMT: International Front. Back from an academic break to find that Kuwait has summoned Iran's top diplomatic official to warn Tehran not to interfere in internal affairs.

Kuwait has accused Iran of involvement in an espionage ring that carried out surveillance of US and Kuwaiti military sites. A Kuwaiti court issued sentences this week, condemning three people to death.

The National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran's Parliament has struck on another front --- at least rhetorically --- by warning Saudi Arabia that "playing with fire" in a sensitive Middle East will not be in its interests.

0845 GMT: Mousavi and the Funeral. A 20-second clip claiming to be of the funeral of Mir Hossein Mousavi's father has been posted on Facebook.

Kalemeh claims the procession has been disrupted by a large number of plainclothes officers, who have arrested seven people.

0835 GMT: Shutting Down the Reformist. Rasoul Montajabnia, the deputy head of Mehdi Karroubi's reformist party Etemade Melli, has challenged a Government commission's report that the party has been forced to halt its activities.

Montajabnia insisted that the Etemade Melli office had been unsealed and there was no formal ban. He said that members had not gathered because of official warnings. He added that, if a meeting was allowed, Karroubi might not run again for office.

0745 GMT: Selective Protesting. IRNA reports that Iranian protesters gathered on Wednesday in front of the United Nations office in Tehran to voice solidarity with repressed anti-regime protesters in Arab states, chanting, “Death to America....Death to the Israeli regime”.

Press TV adds, "The demonstration comes amid continued use of fatal force against anti-regime protests by autocratic regimes in Bahrain, Libya, Yemen" and --- in a phrase which I guess includes Syria --- "other countries in North Africa and the Middle East".

0700 GMT: Economy Watch. A Parliamentary report says debts are on the rise, with $33.5 billion now owed to government banks. There are more than 7 million open files on debtors.

0640 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Hamid Mohseni, the head of Mir Hossein Mousavi's office, has been released from prison after he was given a five-year suspended prison sentence.

Mohseni can be summoned back to prison at any point if authorities believed he has committed a further offence.

There is concern about the situation of journalist and Karroubi consultant Taghi Rahmani, who was arrested again by the regime during the protests of 14 February. Phone calls to him in Evin Prison were cut off in early March.

Rahmani has spent a total of more than 14 years in prison since the 1980s because of his journalism and activism.

Mothers of political detainees in Rajai Shahr Prison have called on United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, the UN's top human rights official, Navi Pillay, and Amnesty International for support.

0635 GMT: Mousavi and His Father. A reminder amidst the news that opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi's father, Mir Esmail Mousavi, passed away yesterday....

For the last six weeks of his life, Mir Esmail Mousavi was told that his son --- under strict house arrest or detained by Iran authorities --- could not visit him because "he was on a trip".

0625 GMT: Book Corner. Javad Saeedipour had a problem with his latest collection of short stories, "Excitement". Iran's Ministry of Culture would not grant the book a publishing licence.

So Saeedipour made the collection available on his blog for download, as well on goodreads.com.

In January, Nobel Prize winner Paolo Coelho posted Persian-language editions of his books on his website after his works were banned by the Ministry of Culture.

0605 GMT: Kalemeh, the website linked to Mir Hossein Mousavi, says the regime has ended the New Year prison furlough of some reformistpolitical prisoners. The reason? Authorities are concerned they will participate in the funeral of Mousavi's father. 

Those recalled include Mohsen Mirdamadi, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, and Feizollah Arabsorkhi.

0445 GMT: Yesterday Mir Esmail Mousavi, the 97-year-old father of the detained opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi, died.

The development raised an immediate question: would the younger Mousavi, held under house arrest or detention by Iranian authorities since mid-February, be allowed to attend today's funeral service?

According to one relative, Mousavi was taken to see his dead father for the last time. He supposedly kept repeating the word "patience".

The Green Path of Hope Coordinating Committee, the umbrella group for the opposition, has asked people to attend the funeral services.