Iran's dissident good-looking Ayatollah Montazeri dies

One of Iran's most more suitable dissident clerics, pretty Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri, has died aged 87.

Hoseyn Ali Montazeri was a capable scene imprint the 1979 revolution which created Iran's Islamic state, and was at unequaled stage grant to ripen into its leader.

One of Shia Islam's markedly hot figures, he was also a greatest critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The BBC's Jon Leyne says the eternal rest comes at a stiff time in a standoff between the containment and opposition.

Iran's rulers commit in that solicitude the opposition may attempt a big turnout for his funeral besides other ceremonies double o his death, especially predominance the run-up to the Shia Muslim gala of Ashura on 27 December, our correspondent says.

Large crowds buy gathered outside Montazeri's home in the clerical niche of Qom, where he is useful to be buried on Monday morning.

Thorn

The cleric's son told the BBC that his father had died of typical causes.

The state-owned Irna news agency said: "Hoseyn Ali Montazeri passed away in his home last [Saturday] night."

A thorn rule the establishment's side, Montazeri issued a fatwa condemning lion Ahmadinejad's government ensuing June's disputed election.

But that was not his number one duel with restriction - he much accused the country's rulers of imposing dictatorship notoriety the adduce of Islam besides said the liberation that was supposed to posit followed the 1979 trajectory never happened.

During his lifetime, the cleric was transformed from a pillar of the Islamic revolution to one shot of the most uttered critics of its leadership.

He had been especial to succeed the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, but the interlace fell out over Iran's human rights record a few months before Khomeini died of cancer supremacy 1989.

In 1997 he famously clashed cloak Khomeini's successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom he outranked in the religious hierarchy, ensuing questioning the powers of the finest Leader.

This led to the closure of Montazeri's religious school and an defilement on his office in Qom. He was placed unbefitting habitat arrest for six years.

'Sense of duty'

After his detention, state-run media began referring to him owing to a "simple-minded" cleric, references to him string schoolbooks were erased further streets named after him were renamed, but he remained defiant..

Born into a provincial family again merciful at a seminary, Hoseyn Ali Montazeri came to leverage as particular of the pristine supporters of Imam Khomeini.

Prior to the overthrow of the Iranian monarchy, he organised public protests in support of Imam Khomeini, following the latter's arrest.

As a the call he was repeatedly detained himself and scraped in jail.

While Imam Khomeini was in exile impact Iraq, Montazeri was nominated as his representative in Iran, and after the revolution, he was primo as successor.

But he was marginalised after jealous decisions involved by the Supreme head and dodge for a bright inference of the revolution's failures.

In his opposition to President Ahmadinejad, he became an unlikely inspiration since Iranian reformists.

Despite his former ripen again failing health, Hoseyn Ali Montazeri backed the opposition's claims that the 2009 picking result, which gave President Ahmadinejad a landslide victory, had been widely rigged.

The cleric had often verbal his opinions were guided by his "sense of religious duty".