Iran's supreme leader called on the opposition on Tuesday to distance itself from the Islamic Republic's Western enemies, in a warning ahead of possible new anti-government protests next month, Reuters reported.
Tension has risen in Iran after eight people were killed in clashes between the security forces and opposition supporters on Ashura, the ritual day of Shi'ite mourning that fell on December 27.
It was the worst violence in the major oil producer since the aftermath of last year's disputed presidential election and was followed by the arrests of scores of pro-reform figures in a fresh crackdown by the authorities.
Despite intensifying pressure, opposition backers are expected to try to take to the streets again on February 11, when Iran marks the 31st anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Opposition Iranians have used occasions marked in the Islamic revolutionary calendar to revive their protests and messages of rallies on that day have circulated on the Internet.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has effectively sided with hardliners urging tougher action against the demonstrators, said Iran's foes were seeking to harm its unity.
Government officials have portrayed the huge opposition protests that erupted after the June election as a foreign-backed bid to undermine the clerical leadership.
"All parties with different tendencies should clearly distance themselves from the enemies, particularly influential elites should avoid making ambiguous comments ... when arrogant powers and oppressors adopt anti-Islamic stances," he said.
Referring to the state-sponsored rallies usually seen on the revolution anniversary, Khamenei said the "enemies are worried about the huge presence of our nation" on that day and that they could not undermine the Islamic revolution.
But in a sign of continued opposition defiance, reformist former president Mohammad Khatami accused the authorities of launching a "new wave of pressures" and he defended people still protesting over the outcome of the election.
