Iran ? Iranian security forces beat protesters in central Tehran on Saturday while hardline activists disrupted a speech by the country’s moderate former president, reformist Web sites said, raising tensions ahead of opposition rallies expected during a key religious mourning ritual.

Several injuries were reported in Saturday’s unrest, which came a day before the Shiite Muslim mourning ceremony of Ashoura. Opposition activists have held a series of anti-government protests since the death of a dissident cleric last week, and other rallies are expected during today’s Ashoura rituals.

Last Sunday’s death of the 87-year-old Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a sharp critic of Iran’s leaders, has given a new push to opposition protests, which have endured despite a heavy security crackdown since disputed presidential elections in June.