Khamenei warns opposition of their 'collapse'

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, warned the country's opposition leaders on Monday that they faced "collapse" if they continued to incite protests over the disputed presidential election.

The warning came amid an unprecedented war of words between the regime's senior leaders and looked like a retort to Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, the influential former president who has backed the opposition. Mr Rafsanjani said on Friday the country was in "crisis" and the regime had to regain people's trust.

Mr Rafsanjani delivered his speech during prayers at Tehran university, attended by hundreds of thousands of protesters, in what became the biggest show of dissent in the country since a crackdown by Iran's security forces followed the June 12 presidential election.

The speech, an implicit criticism of the supreme leader's declaration that Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad was the election winner, appears to have given fresh impetus to the opposition, which claims the June vote was rigged. Opposition rallies are planned for Tuesday.

"The [political] elite should be careful," warned Ayatollah Khamenei. "They [the opposition leaders] are in an exam session; a big exam. Failing in this exam does not mean getting one [academic] year behind. It will lead to [their] collapse.