Iran Cleric: Mideast Unrest Replay Of Iranian Revolt

Senior cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami

A senior Iranian cleric said today that a change of government in Tunisia and violent protests in Egypt and Yemen are evidence that Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution is being replayed.

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said in his Friday prayer sermon that "an Islamic Middle East is taking shape ... based on religious democracy."

Iran's state TV has provided extensive coverage of the protests that have engulfed Egypt, saying President Hosni Mubarak won't have a fate better than that of the deposed Iranian shah.

Protesters in Yemen also have called for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled for nearly 32 years.

compiled from agency reports