Iran to execute nine dissidents ahead of Feb 11 anniversary

Iran's Green Movement, the reformist campaign led by Mr Ahmadinejad's election challengers, Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, is planning a rally next Thursday, on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the Shah.

Last Thursday the regime hanged two men accused of participating in protests following last year's disputed presidential election.

And on Tuesday Ebrahim Raisi, a senior member of Iran's judiciary, said nine other government critics would be hanged soon for what he said was their bid to topple the Islamic regime.

But Mr Mousavi was not deterred, condemning the hangings and urging supporters to take to the streets next week.

He wrote on his website on Tuesday that the repression showed the 1979 Islamic revolution that overthrew the US-backed Shah had failed as the "roots of tyranny and dictatorship" still exist.

"Filling the prisons and brutally killing protesters show that the root of ... dictatorship remain from the monarchist era," the former premier said on his Kaleme website.