Khamenei started a smearing campaign against Montazeri

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei said that Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, should have remained quiet about the 1988 massacres of dissidents, and that his standing up for human rights was a sign of human frailty and overpowering ego, which had the potential to undermine the Islamic Republic. Cult-like ideologies always attempt to silence dissidents and to paint dissidence as pure individual selfishness that leads to public turmoil.
In a related development Al-Arabiya TV has reported that the Iranian authorities tred to force Montazeri’s family out of their house to confiscate it . The Atlantic

Opposition turns Ayatollah’s funeral into another anti-government rally

The Iranian regime hit back viciously last night after the opposition turned the funeral of their spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, into another huge anti-government demonstration in the holy city of Qom.
Men on motorbikes attacked the car carrying Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition leader, back from Qom to Tehran. They smashed the back window and injured one of his aides, a reformist website reported. Hundreds of government agents halted the memorial service for Montazeri, according to a conservative website. Times

The Iranian opposition turned the funeral ceremony of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri in the holy city of Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran, December 21, 2009 into another anti-government rally

Ayatollah Montazeri’s funeral turns to opposition protest

Tens of thousands of Iranian mourners turned the funeral procession of the country’s most senior dissident cleric into an anti-government protest Monday, chanting “death to the dictator” and slogans in support of the opposition amid heavy security.
Witnesses said security forces clamped down in Iran’s holy city of Qom where massive crowds streamed in for the funeral rites for Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who died Sunday at age 87.
Marchers held aloft black-rimmed portraits of Montazeri and green banners and wrist bands in a powerful show of support for the Green Movement of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who attended the funeral along with another prominent protest leader, Mahdi Karroubi.

Iran mourns the death of Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri

Crowds of mourners are gathering in the Iranian city of Qom following the death of leading reformist cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri at 87.
Some pro-reform websites say thousands of people are traveling to the city ahead of Monday’s funeral.
Other unverified reports say opposition supporters are also gathering in some squares in Tehran, fueling government concern of increased political tension.
Iran faced serious unrest after its disputed presidential election in June.
Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, one of Shia Islam’s most respected figures and once tapped to become Iran’s undisputed number one was a leading critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said last August that the turmoil following the election “could lead to the fall of the regime”. Source: BBC