QOM: Iranian reformist supporters have clashed with police following the funeral of a dissident cleric, opposition websites say. Earlier tens of thousands took part in a procession for Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri in the holy city of Qom.

Clashes reportedly broke out but the scale of the confrontation is not clear. Ayatollah Montazeri, who was 87, had denounced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election as a fraud. The reformist Jaras website said mourners chanted slogans in support of the grand ayatollah and also of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. Mousavi took part in the procession along with fellow opposition leader Mehdi

Karroubi.

Another site, Rahesabz.net, said some members of the hardline pro-government faction Ansar Hezbollah tried to stop chanting in the crowd, but left “after clashing with some people”. Many mourners were carrying green banners or wearing green - the colour of Iran’s opposition. Opposition website Kaleme.org said that following the funeral, some mourners threw stones at police surrounding the grand Ayatollah’s house and clashes with security forces followed. Footage broadcast on the internet also showed thousands of mourners marching in the cleric’s hometown of Najafabad, near the central city of Isfahan. They beat their chests and chanted: “Oppressed Montazeri, you are with God now.” The government knows the funeral is one demonstration it cannot forbid, although it fears it could spark another round of protests. In response, authorities have imposed strict new restrictions on the media, both foreign and domestic. Leading up to the funeral, buses carrying mourners were stopped and some passengers reportedly arrested. The Jaras website said a student of the Grand Ayatollah, Ahmad Qabel, had been detained on his way to the funeral.

Fresh attempts have been made to jam BBC’s Persian television service to Iran.