Mousavi calls day of mourning, more Tehran protests

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

By Parisa Hafezi and Hashem Kalantari

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Iranians marched in quiet defiance on Wednesday in protest against moderate Mirhossein Mousavi's election defeat, ahead of a day of mourning he has called for those killed in clashes.

In a fifth successive day of protests, Mousavi supporters demonstrated in central Tehran against the official victory of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Friday's vote, which has caused the worst unrest since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

At least seven people were killed in street battles in Tehran on Monday, according to state media. Other protests have flared up in cities elsewhere in Iran.

"A number of our countrymen were wounded or martyred," Mousavi said, calling Thursday's day of mourning.

"I ask the people to express their solidarity with the families ... by coming together in mosques or taking part in peaceful demonstrations," Mousavi said on his website.

Bloodshed, mass protests, arrests and a media crackdown have focused attention on the world's fifth-biggest oil exporter which is locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear programme.

After Mousavi's web message, his supporters poured into Tehran's Haft-e Tir Square, ignoring an Interior Ministry warning, witnesses said. They were mostly dressed in black with wristbands and headbands in Mousavi's green campaign colours.