What concerned the authorities was that his criticisms could influence hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom may be inside the political machinery of the Islamic Republic, such as the Revolutionary Guards or the Bassij militia.

However, Montazeri died as an enemy of the regime he had helped to create. He also died as the main designer of Iran’s leadership structure, endowing all power to the supreme leader. And although he later said he had made a mistake, the opposition knows that it is this powerful post that has blocked reform over the past 30 years.

So, when hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators come out to mourn Ayatollah Montazeri, they do not necessarily mourn the loss of a leader for their particular movement but the loss of a powerful critic of the regime. They are well aware that Montazeri – even though highly respected – belongs to a page in the history of Iran that they are keen to turn. “Not an Islamic Republic but an Iranian Republic is what we want,” a new slogan said.