Amid calls in Iran for the prosecution of opposition leaders and dissolution of reform fronts, leading figure of Iran's reformist movement Seyyed Mohammad Khatami promises a firm stand on the political scene.

In a powerful address to members of the reform Front Coordinating Council, Iran's former two-time president Khatami made a pledge for a much stronger presence by reformers on the country's political stage.
""The pretenders, and perhaps those in charge, who have no faith in the Revolution or the ways of the late Imam (founder of the Islamic Revolution Ruhollah Khomeini), or those who regret the Revolution, are doing their best to divert and metamorphose the Revolution, although they consider themselves revolutionaries,"" Khatami said on Friday.
""What has happened in these days is in itself a firm reason for a stronger presence on the (political) scene under the banner of reforms, because we (the reformers) are all committed to the Revolution and do not regret it,"" he argued.
The remarks come as during the fourth session of the revolutionary court held on Tuesday, the prosecutor accused the reformist fronts -- Islamic Participation Front and the Islamic Revolution Mujahedeen Organization -- of ""lying"" and spreading ""rumors of fraud in the election"" and called for both factions to be dissolved.
Later on Friday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threw his weight behind calls for the prosecution of opposition leaders who are accused of devising plans that led to the recent deadly tumult in the country following the June 12 election.
""Severe punishment must await the leaders of the movement and its main elements,"" Ahmadinejad said. ""Lest they have immunity and lowly agents be punished cruelly.""
""Despite all the pressures for ejecting the reformists and fair thinkers from the scene, we will stay on the scene,"" Khatami was quoted by Iran's Labor News Agency on Friday.
""Today, we must press for the rightful demand of the reformist movement - 'Change' - more than before...by which we mean a return to the basics of the Constitution and the ideals of the late Imam and the Revolution,"" he elaborated.
Khatami went on to condemn the televised mass trials of dissidents, which, he claimed, were ""not accepted by any of the senior clerics, the elites of the seminaries or universities or the society.""
He called on the new figure at the helm of the country's Judiciary, Sadeq Larijani, to ensure that the Constitution and due legal process and citizens' rights are observed in dealing with the post-vote accused.
""People wait for public courts to process the obvious and revolting crimes ... including the illegal arrests and non-standard detention centers,"" Khatami said in reference to alleged abuses of those detained in the post-election round-ups.
(Source: Press TV)