In Iran, the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the dissident cleric who died on Sunday, has been followed by clashes between anti-government demonstrators and police.

The country's political opposition called on supporters to turn out in large numbers for the funeral, which was held in the holy city of Qom. Many of those who did carried green flags - the colour of the opposition - and shouted anti-government slogans. In the clash with police that followed, demonstrators pelted the police with stones.

Hossein Ali Montazeri was considered the most important candidate to succeed the Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini, who died in 1989. Together, the two men had played a prominent role in the formation of the Islamic republic in 1979. However, Mr Montazeri later came into conflict with the current leaders and was forced to live for several years in exile.

He had long been critical of the concentration of power in the hands of the supreme leader and called for changes to the constitution, which he helped draw up in 1979. He also often criticised President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his domestic and foreign policies, including his arguments about nuclear power with the West. Mr Montazeri was 87-years-old.

Photo of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri's funeral by EPA