Any move by Iran’s regime to kill or arrest opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi would have “catastrophic consequences” for the country, the son of late dissident cleric Hossein Ali Montazeri has told Germany’s Spiegel magazine.

Saeed Montazeri was also quoted as saying that the killing of Mousavi’s nephew during anti-government protests on December 27 was “a kind of last warning” to the opposition chief.

“I don’t know if he will also be killed one day, or if the regime will have him arrested. This would have catastrophic consequences,” Said Montazeri was quoted as saying in a telephone interview.

“I still hope that the government shows it can be reasonable, that they accept a compromise and take the path of national reconciliation,” he added, but said this would only be possible if President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was forced out of office.