Home of opposition leader attacked

Tehran: Pro-government militiamen attacked the home of an Iranian opposition leader with homemade bombs and beat one of his bodyguards unconscious, an opposition website reported, in an apparent attempt to keep him from attending a key rally on Friday.

Mahdi Karroubi's guards had to fire gunshots in the air to clear crowds that broke down the door of his home on Thursday night after days of gatherings outside, said the Sahamnews website, which supports Iran's pro-reform movement.

Pro-reform

The report said the attackers were members of the plain clothes Basij militia that led the crackdown on the protests that swept the country in response to allegations of fraud in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's June 2009 re-election. Karroubi was one of the pro-reform candidates who ran against Ahmadinejad.

Crowds again encircled Karroubi's residence yesterday, as Iranians filled a central Tehran square for the annual state-sponsored rally known as Quds Day, or Occupied Jerusalem Day.

The government uses the occasion as an anti-Israel outpouring and to show its support for the Palestinians.

But last year, Karroubi and other opposition leaders used the day to gather supporters into the streets, and violent clashes broke out with security forces.