TEHRAN -- The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) Political Bureau says that opposition leader and former presidential candidate Mir Hussein Musavi should be arrested.
Brigadier General Yadollah Javani, who represents Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the IRGC, claimed on August 17 that Musavi's "green movement" of supporters who protested against the results of the June presidential election was established to overthrow the supreme leader.
He said Musavi's movement favors Western countries over the Iranian government, and that Western countries are promoting instability and uncertainty in Iran.
Javani's call for Musavi’s arrest is one of the strongest yet by an Iranian official.
Javani said that Musavi's opposition movement brought protesters into the streets in an effort to cause "social chaos" and force Khamenei to reject the results of the presidential election, in which Musavi officially finished second to incumbent Mahmud Ahmadinejad. Musavi's supporters claim the result was fraudulent and that Musavi actually won.
Javani added that anyone who calls for the hundreds of people who were detained in the aftermath of the election to be freed does not want the cases of postelection violence to be clarified.