17 September 2010 Last updated at 12:28 ET

Iranian security forces 'close' Mousavi office

Mr Mousavi is the main leader of the reformist "green" movement

Iranian security forces have surrounded the office in Tehran of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, in effect closing it, his supporters say.

Two days ago security agents reportedly raided the office, taking computers and some of Mr Mousavi's belongings.

Mr Mousavi's supporters say he is under virtual house arrest in Tehran.

He lost last year's presidential election to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a vote that he and other opposition figures say was rigged.

A statement on Mr Mousavi's website posted after Wednesday's raid on his offices said a "new phase of restrictions" had begun.

The Iranian government has not commented.

Growing pressure

"With the attack by plainclothes security agents on the office of Mr Mousavi, it seems that another phase of restrictions has started," the statement on Mr Mousavi's Kaleme.com website said.

Correspondents say the move is part of growing pressure on opposition figures in the past two weeks.

Earlier this month, Kaleme reported that members of a militia linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards had attacked the home of another opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi, before the annual Quds Day rally in support of the Palestinians.

The Guards later condemned the attack and denied that its members were involved, blaming it on "rogue elements" not related to its paramilitary Basij force.

The two opposition leaders maintain that Mr Ahmadinejad's re-election last year was the result of massive vote rigging.

Thousands of opposition supporters were rounded up after the mass street protests following the June 2009 vote. Scores remain in prison.