Iran bans Mousavi ally from leaving the country

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has banned an ally of the country's opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi from leaving the Islamic state, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

Abolfazl Fateh, head of Mousavi's media office, said the ban would not change his political stance, adding he was banned from leaving Iran because of his role in post-election developments.

"Such pressures can not push people like me to change our political stances," he told IRNA. "The imposed ban will not change my political views."

Iranian authorities have used a combination of warnings, arrests and the threat of police action over the last week to drive mass rallies off Tehran's street with smaller gatherings dispersed with tear gas and baton charges.

State media have said 20 people were killed in violence since the June 12 election -- won by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- and authorities accuse Mousavi of responsibility for the bloodshed. He says the government is to blame.

The state-run Iran newspaper said Fateh, who had been studying for a doctorate in Britain, was banned from leaving the country because of his involvement in post-election developments.

Mousavi has called for an annulment of the vote because of "election rigging".

The semi-official ILNA news agency said Mousavi urged the Interior Ministry to allow a rally by his supporters at Azadi square in southwest Tehran. No date was mentioned in the report.