TEHRAN: Eight Iranian opposition groups have sought permission to hold rallies on June 12, the anniversary of last year’s disputed presidential election, an opposition website reported on Thursday.
The eight political parties and reformist groups sent written requests to Iran’s interior ministry on Wednesday, Kaleme.com said.
Among the eight are the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) and the Organization of the Islamic Revolution Mujahedeen, two major reformist parties whose activities have been banned the authorities, Kaleme.com said.
The two main opposition figures, Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, filed similar requests on Monday.
The two leaders have in past weeks begun stepping up political pressure with renewed calls for fresh presidential elections and by again rejecting the authority of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mousavi and Karroubi lost out to Ahmadinejad in last year’s vote and quickly dismissed the result as massively rigged, sparking street protests which rocked the Islamic republic throughout the summer and winter.
Security forces cracked down heavily, with dozens of protesters killed, hundreds arrested and scores of prominent reformist leaders, journalists and rights campaigners put on trial — many receiving stiff jail sentences.
