Iranian security forces raid opposition leader's office

Security forces have raided the office of Iran's top opposition leader and seized computers after days of intimidating visitors with a heavy force presence around the building.

By The Newsroom

Published 17th Sep 2010, 23:23 BST

Updated 17th Sep 2010, 23:24 BST

The raid on Mir Hossein Mousavi's office on Wednesday night points to a stepped up campaign to harass the leaders of the country's besieged and dispirited pro-reform movement. Mr Mousavi was not in his office when it the raid took place. The head of Mr Mousavi's office, Hamid Mohseni, was arrested on Monday. Relentless crackdowns over the past year have driven opposition activists from the streets after an initial outpouring to protest against the June 2009 presidential election, which they say was fraudulent. Mr Mousavi was one of two pro-reform candidates who ran against President Ahmadinejad in the 2009 election.

Mr Mousavi said he was the rightful winner of the vote, and tens of thousands of Iranians poured into the streets to challenge the poll results.