Mehdi Karroubi
's offer is the latest challenge to the government over the disputed balloting.Hundreds of opposition supporters have been jugged and tried following the fierce crackdown that crushed weeks of protests. Authorities have not jugged top reformists, however, apparently fearing a new outbreak of unrest.
But last week, in an abrupt about-face, Tehran's chief prosecutor said it was only a matter of time before opposition leaders would be put on trial over the rioting that followed the disputed 2009 presidential balloting.
On Monday, the kaleme.com website cited Karoubi as agreeing to take part in an open proceeding. "I wholeheartedly would welcome a trial and have strong evidence to support my case," Karoubi said. "But I have a request: that the court be open if the authorities are honest."
Reformists say opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was the election's real victor and that President Mahmoud
Short RoundAhmadinejad won by fraud.
Hard-line media and activists have been pushing to try opposition leaders in recent weeks, in a possible sign Iran's leadership believes the opposition has been sufficiently suppressed so their arrests would not provoke a significant backlash.
However,
The infamous
However...
Iran's Prosecutor General Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie has said the trial of opposition leaders was unlikely to be held in the near future as certain "conditions" had to be met.
"Those who have committed crimes will definitely be prosecuted, especially those who gave hope to the enemy and inflicted a great injustice on the people," Mohseni Ejeie was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.
By demanding an open trial, Karoubi challenged the ruling establishment to take a step that could ignite a new wave of protests throughout the country.
The deadly protests that erupted after the June 2009 election presented Iran's leadership with its severest challenge since it came to power in the 1979 revolution. Hundreds of thousands erupted into the streets in support of Mousavi, and some powerful preachers sided with the opposition.
But government forces harshly suppressed the protests and the opposition has not held a major demonstration since December 2009.
Iranian opposition figures say more than 80 demonstrators were killed in the turmoil.
The government, which puts the number of confirmed deaths at 30, accuses opposition leaders of being "stooges of the West" and of seeking to topple the ruling system.